MIISrJilRAL 


'ti(rrcalfnrHl  ^eBonrces 


THE  PORTION  OF  TENNESSEE 


ALONG    THE 


onati  Soothern  and  Knoxville  &  Ohio  Hailroads, 


INCLUDING 


THE  COUNTRY  BETWEEN  THE  TWO. 


BY 

J.  B.  KILLEBREW, 

Commissioner  of  *Ag.riG%iliure,  Statistics  Skid  Mines. 


NASHVILLE: 
2  2  JT^vjJl,,jEastman  &  Howell. 

1876. 


§ 


MiXEiLVL  nisTKif  r 


Mi:N^EIli^I. 


AGmCULTURAL  RESOURCES 


OF 


THE  PORTION  OF  TENNESSEE 


ALONG  THE 


Cincinnati  Soykrn  and  MA  &  Oliio  Bailfoads, 


rNCLUDING 


THE  COUNTRY  BETWEEN  THE  TWO. 


BY 

J.  B.  KILLEBREW, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  Statistics  and  Mines. 


NASHVTLLK; 


HC 
107 
TzK5 


12 

Ul 

^   To  His  Excellency,  Gov.  James  D.  Porter: 

g        I  have  received  from  various  parts  of  the  United  States, 

3  and   especially   from  Europe,   inquiries    about   the   region 

traversed  by  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad.     To   meet 

i»     this    demand    for    information,   and    thus  "attract    capital 

^     and   labor  to  the  State,"  I  have  spent  several  months  in 

'     studying   the   country  on  both   sides   of  the  railway,    its 

mineral   resources  and  agricultural  capabilities,  and  have 

5     embodied  the  results  of  my  observations  in  the  accompany- 

o     iug  pamphlet. 

'^  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

:S  Very  respectfully, 

y  J.  B.  KILLEBREW. 


456709 


MINERAL 


/GRlCniTURAL  1[ES0URCES 

OF  THE  POKTION  OF  TENNESSEE 


ALONG   THE 


CINCINNATI  SOUTHERN  RAILROAD. 


The  Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad  has  been  a*  favorite 
project  of  leading  capitalists,  citizens  and  engineers  of  Cin- 
cinnati and  central  Kentucky,  for  many  years.  It  was 
probably  first  discussed  in  1834.  In  1837  Colonel  W.  A. 
Gunn,  the  present  engineer  in  charge  of  surveys  on  the 
road,  made  a  partial  survey  of  a  road  leading  from  Cincin- 
nati in  the  general  direction  of  Chattanooga.  It  is  a  re- 
mai'kable  fact,  and  no  small  compliment  to  Colonel  Gunn, 
that  his  judgment  of  forty  years  ago  has  been  substantially 
approved  and  adopted  as  the  line  of  the  road  now  approach- 
ing completion.  In  those  early  days,  and  ever  since,  the 
Hon  In  the  path  which  has  deterred  private  capital  from 
undertaking  this  great  work,  has  been  the  Cumberland 
Mountain,  whose  rugged  peaks  have  repelled  any  but  the 
rudest  civilization  from  an  area  nearly  a  hundred  miles 
wide  over  which  the  route  passes.  To  link  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Michigan,  Western  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania  to  the 
great  mineral  region  and  rich  cotton  belt  of  the  South,  by  a 
line  almost  as  straight  as  the  bird  flies,  the  iron  chain  must 


6  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the  ' 

« 

be  dragged  through  the  bowels  of  the  everlasting  hills,  over 
dizzy  chasms,  through  a  trackless,  forbidding  wilderness. 
Much  of  this  region  in  Southern  Kentucky  and  Northern 
Tennessee  lacks  only  the  Indian,  the  grizzly  and  the  snows 
to  rival  the  Sierras  of  the  North  as  a  barrier  to  engineering 
skill  and  a  terrifier  of  railroad  investors.  To  say  that  Cin- 
cinnati has  shown  daring  enterprise  in  the  expenditure  of 
$16,000,000  to  span  this  dividing  wall  between  Northern 
and  Southern  products,  is  faintly  expressing  the  truth.  No 
city  in  the  civilized  world  ever  voluntarily  made  such  a 
venture  in  behalf  of  her  own  commerce  and  the  upbuilding 
of  her  interdependent  neighbors.  Never  was  such  a  mag- 
nificent endowment  so  skillfully  and  honestly  expended,  in 
the  history  of  American  internal  improvements.  No  chan- 
nel of  commerce  on  the  continent  connects  more  important 
interests,  and  now  has  developed  more  "local"  trade,  than 
this  will  do. 

The  agitation  which  finally  took  concrete  form  in  this 
subject  began  just  after  the  war — perhaps  we  might  say  it 
was  renewed  then — by  a  half  dozen  enterprising  men  in 
Cincinnati,  and  as  many  more  in  Chattanooga.  Projects 
without  number  were  discussed  and  abandoned.  The  ob- 
jective point,  however,  was  kept  steadily  in  view.  Gradu- 
ally all  schemes  centered  in  one  to  build  the  road  by  Cin- 
cinnati for  Cincinnati,  and  in  the  interests  of  commerce,  as 
distinguished  from  the  interests  of  boards  of  directors. 
The  Constitution  of  Ohio  had  to  be  flanked  in  the  enabling 
act.  That  done,  the  Southern  charters  were  still  to  pro- 
cure. The  Judiciary  Committee  in  our  own  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives displayed  hostility.  The  committee  was  voted 
down.  Then  a  two  years'  siege  was  required  to  carry  the 
works  with  which  powerful  interests  had  circumvallated 
the  Legislature  of  Kentucky.  One  by  one  all  these  obsta- 
cles of  men's  creating  gave  way  before  the  determined  men 
who  were  managing  the  interest  of  Cincinnati.     Meantime 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  7 

her  citizens  had  voted  ten  millions  of  money  with  which  to 
begin  the  work.     Tiiese  gigantic  tasks  were  fairly  begun  in 
1868.     It  required  five  years  to  complete  the  wordy  pre- 
liminaries, and   remove  all  the   hindrances  which    written , 
and  spoken  eloquence  could  put  in  the  way. 

The  first  contract  was  for  boring  Kings  Mountain  tunnel, 
sections  57  and  58,  in  Kentucky.  It  was  signed  December 
12,  ]873.  Since  then  the  work  of  grading  and  otherwise 
prejDaring  the  road-bed  has  been  vigorously  pushed.  The 
trustees  expect  to  finish  the  line  ready  for  the  cars — except- 
ing sideings  and  depots — by  June  1,  1877. 

The  road  is  336  41-100  miles  long.  Its  general  direc- 
tion is  north  and  south.  The  northern  end  bisects  the  Blue 
Grass  region  of  Kentucky.  The  southern  end,  for  about 
ninety  miles,  runs  through  a  series  of  valleys  that  in  fer- 
tility, beauty  of  scenery  and  healthful  climate  are  not  sur- 
passed in  Southern  France  or  Italy.  The  middle  section 
traverses  a  region  rich,  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the 
unskilled  observer,  in  latent  resources  of  mineral  and  agri- 
cultural products.  Millions  of  acres  on  either  side  of  the 
road,  from  the  Kentucky  River  to  Emory  Gap,  can  be 
bought  at  merely  nominal  figures,  but  they  are  as  good 
sheep  lands,  as  good  for  the  purposes  of  the  grape  culturist 
or  general  fruiterer,  as  any  acres  the  sun  shines  on;  while 
beneath  them  lie  exhaustless  beds  of  coal  and  iron  in 
such  close  proximity  as  are  found  nowhere  else  in  the 
world  outside  the  Southern  mineral  region.  When  these 
dreary  knobs  are  covered  with  vineyards  and  orchards  and 
studded  with  sheep  cotes ;  when  scores  of  furnaces  light  up 
the  gloomy  ravines  and  impart  their  glow  to  the  forbidding 
palisades,  then  will  the  great  and  enterprising  city  find  that 
that  which  deterred  all  others  from  undertaking  to  build 
her  a  highway  to  the  South  brings  her  most  profit;  that 
these  mountain  fastnesses  were  better  worth  the  reaching 
than  the  sunny  plains  beyond,  covered  with  cotton  and  cane. 


8  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

The  principal  southern  connections  of  the  Cincinnati 
road  at  its  southern  terminus  will  be  the  Western  and 
Atlantic  from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta,  and  connecting 
thence  with  Augusta,  Macon,  Savannah,  Columbus,  Pensa- 
cola,  Brunswick,  Jacksonville;  and  the  Alabama  and  Chat- 
tanooga road  from  Chattanooga  to  Meridian,  Mississippi, 
and  connecting  along  the  line  and  from  its  southern  termi- 
nus with  Montgomery,  Mobile,  Selma,  Vicksburg,  New 
Orleans,  &c.  The  last  mentioned  is  a  natural  and  very 
important  connection  and  link  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railway,  destined  to  be  completed  at  no  distant  day.  When 
built,  it  must  place  Cincinnati  on  an  equal  footing,  with 
reference  to  commercial  intercourse  with  the  Pacific  slope, 
with  St.  Louis  and  Chicago.  Indeed,  she  must  be  more 
eligibly  situated  than  either  of  them,  for  her  access  will  be 
quite  as  direct  and  always  available  for  its  highest  capacity 
^n  freight  or  passenger  traffic,  whereas  the  Northern  Pacific 
route,  on  which  her  rivals  depend,  is  precarious  during  four 
months  of  the  year  from  deep  snows  and  severe  cold.  But 
we  can  not  go  into  detail  here.  Let  the  reader  take  any  map 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  laid  down 
line  of  the  Cincinnati  Southern,  let  him  hiy  a  string  or  rule 
from  Cincinnati  to  Chattanooga,  and  study  the  strategic 
advantages  gained  by  the  former  city  m  ith  her  road  fin- 
ished. Let  him  consider  that  every  point  named  here  has 
been  placed  as  near  to  Cincinnati  as  it  is  now  to  Louisville. 
No  thoughtful  man  can  fail  to  comprehend  the  splendid 
field  opened  to  the  enterprise  which  conceived  and  executed 
the  gigantic  undertaking  of  reaching  that  field  over  its  own 
railway. 

By  the  construction  of  a  branch  railroad,  beginning  six 
miles  south  of  the  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  State  line,  so 
as  to  connect  at  Careyville  with  the  Knoxville  and  Ohio 
Railroad,  now  built  out  twenty-eight  miles  northward  from 
Knoxville,  Knoxville  will  be  within  272  miles  of  Cincin- 


Cincmnati  Southern  llaUway.  P 

nati,  instead  of  558  miles  as  now  by  the  shortest  railroad 
route  built.  Another  proposed  branch  will  unite  the  road 
with  the  Cumberland  and  Ohio,  so  as  to  bring  Nashville 
within  291  miles  of  Cincinnati. 

For  seventy  miles  the  Tennessee  River  runs  parallel 
with  the  Cincinnati  Southern,  which  will  be  a  perpetual 
guarantee  against  high  local  freights,  through  the  best  part 
of  the  agricultural  and  mineral  region  through  which  it 
passes. 

The  road  is  probably  the  best  built  of  any  on  the  conti- 
nent. The  grades  are  lighter  than  those  of  any  trunk  line 
in  the  South.  The  highest  curve  permitted  is  6°.  Sixty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  line  is  straight.  There  are  two  and 
one-fifth  miles  of  iron  bridging,  building  and  to  be  built, 
and  but  a  thousand  feet  of  wooden  bridging.  Three  miles 
of  iron  viaduct  are  to  be  constructed  over  mountain  streams. 
The  tests  applied  to  the  iron  and  steel  for  the  track,  and  to 
the  iron  columns  and  struts  entering  into  the  construction 
-of  bridges  and  viaducts,  are  the  highest  ever  attempted  in 
the  history  of  American  engineering,  and  they  have  been 
rigorously  enforced  in  every  instance.  Steel  rails  are  being 
laid  on  all  the  heavier  grades.  Steel  rails  only,  will  be 
used  in  the  mountains.  The  iron  rails  furnished  are  nearly 
or  quite  equal  to  the  ordinary  run  of  steel  rails.  The  heavy 
character  of  the  mountain  grading  may  be  judged  of  from 
the  fact  that  in  less  than  100  miles  there  are  4  85-100  miles 
of  tunnel,  much  of  it  through  a  shale  almost  as  hard 
as  flint,  but  too  much  broken  to  serve  for  walls,  and  there- 
fore requiring  heavy  timbering.  It  is  doubtful  if,  when 
finished,  any  equal  number  of  miles  of  road  in  the  Union 
will  have  legitimately  cost  as  much  as  this. 

The  following  table  shows  the  height  of  some  principal 
points  along  the  line  above  sea  level,  and  their  approximate 
distances  from  Chattanooga : 


10 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


Name  of  Place. 


Chattaiiontja 

Smith's  X  Roads,  Tenn 

Rockwood,  Tenn 

Emory  Gnp,  Tenn 

Triplett's  (Jap,  Tenn 

Nix  Creek,  Tenn.  (highest  point  on  the  line).. 

Chitwoods,  Tenn 

First  Snnunit  Cumberland  Mountain,  Ky 

Cumberlnnd  River.  Ky 

King's  Mountain,  Ky 

Danville,  Ky 

Kentucky  River,  Ky 

Ije^ington,  Ky 

Ohio  River  Bridge 


Above 

Sea    Level. 

Feet. 

Distance   from 
Chatt;uiooga. 

Miles. 

685 

0 

709 

27 

854 

65 

792 

75 

1209 

90 

1518 

112 

.   1320 

133 

1257 

145 

745 

158 

12S7 

195 

955 

235 

767 

240 

9«6 

260 

537 

336 

The  general  importance  of  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Rail- 
way consists  in  the  fact  that  it  is  part  of  a  great  South  and 
North  system,  now  in  its  infancy,  but  destined  to  become, 
during  this  century,  quite  equal  in  importance  to  the  system 
connecting  the  Eastern  sea-board  with  the  agricultural  re- 
gion of  the  West,  Already  the  Louisville  and  Nashville 
road  and  its  connections  has  exploded  the  postulate  that 
''none  but  east  and  west  lines  can  be  made  to  pay."  It 
and  its  fellow,  connecting  the  two  principal  entrepots  of 
trade  in  the  Ohio  valley  with  the  cotton,  rice  and  sugar 
fields  of  the  gulf  belt,  are  a  nucleus  that  will  expand  into 
a  power  destined,  at  no  distant  period,  to  turn  the  course 
of  commerce  and  work  profound  social,  political  and  eco- 
nomical revolutions.  This  South  and  North  system,  being 
comparatively  short,  will  solve  the  Granger's  question — 
"How  shall  I  reach  the  best  market" — by  bringing  the 
market  to  his  door.  It  will  do  more  ;  it  will  create  de- 
mand, as  well  as  supjily  that  which  exists.  The  population 
depending  on  it  in  the  South  will  increase  as  rapidly  as 
that  of  the  North-west  has  in  the  last  four  decades  under 
the  influence  of  the  East  and  West  system. 

It  is  fortunate  for  Tennessee  that  she  lies  in  the  track  of 


Cincinnati  Southern  Raihcay.  11 

and  has  within  her  borders  the  main  termini  of  the  two 
successful  trunk  lines  connecting  the  North  with  the  South. 
The  Louisville  and  Nashville,  in  its  operations,  has  been 
worth  millions  to  Middle  and  West  Tennessee.  The  Cin- 
cinnati Southern  will  be  equally  beneficial  to  the  Eastern 
and  Southern  portions  of  the  State.  The  two  lines,  when 
the  latter  is  oompleted  (th^e  Louisville  and  Nashville  is  cap- 
itali;;ed  at  ^27,000,000),  will  wield  an  actual  capital  of 
about  $60,000,000!  They  place  Tennessee,  relatively,  in 
the  position  Ohio  occupies  with  reference  to  the  New  York 
Central  and  Baltimore  and  Ohio.  We  are  the  grand  entre- 
pot for  the  cotton  belt  trading  to  the  North,  and  the  dis- 
tributing point  for  the  North  trading  to  tlie  South.  Add 
to  this  the  fact  that — the  East  and  North-west  having  more 
roads  than  they  can  make  profitable — railroad  building  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century  will  be  confined  to  North  and  South 
lines,  and  it  requires  no  prophetic  vision  to  realize  more 
than  all  the  most  enthusiastic  friends  of  the  South  may 
predict  for  her,. as  to  future  development  in  agricultural 
and  manufacturing  progress  and  increase  in  wealth  and 
population.  The  railroad  system  we  have  described  is  des- 
tined to  be  the  great  pacificator,  educator,  liberalizer  and 
enriching  force  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Tennessee  starts 
in  the  race  at  least  ten  years  in  advance  of  her  Southern 
sisters.  May  she  be  found  worthy  of  her  high  trust,  equal 
to  the  realization  of  her  great  advantages. 


Gexeeal  View  of  the  Route. 

Our  purpose  in  this  report  is  to  give  some  account  of  the 
resources,  so  far  as  Tennessee  is  concerned,  as  well  as  the 
geological  and  topographical  features,  of  the  country  lying 
on  the  route. 

The  entire  length  of  the  road  from  Chattauoosra  to  the: 


12  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

Kentucky  State  line  is  136  miles,  eighty  miles  of  which  are 
along  one  of  the  minor  parallel  valleys  of  the  Valley  of 
East  Tennessee  which  lie  at  the  south-eastern  foot  of  the 
Cumberland  Table-land.  At  Emory  Gap  the  line  of  the 
road  leaves  the  Valley  of  East  Tennessee  and  begins  to 
ascend  the  mountain,  and  throughout  the  remaining  fity- 
six  miles  the  road  cuts  through  the  coal  formation.  The 
Valley  of  East  Tennessee,  which  lies  between  the  Unaka 
range  on  the  south-east  and  the  Cumberland  Table-land  on 
the  north-west,  is  made  up  of  a  succession  of  minor  ridges 
and  valleys,  running  in  almost  unbroken  lines  in  a  north- 
easterly and  south-westerly  direction.  A^iewed  from  the 
higher  points  uf  the  Unaka  range,  or  from  the  top  of  the 
Cumberland  Table-land,  the  minor  ridges  melt  into  a  com- 
mon plain.  The  average  elevation  of  the  Valley  of  East 
Tennessee  is  about  1,000  feet  above  the  sea,  while  that  of 
the  Table-land  is  2,000  feet.  Prof.  Lesley,  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, thinks  the  preservation  of  our  coal-fields  is  due  to  a 
great  downthrow  fault,  by  which  the  whole  of  our  coal- 
fields were  sunk  several  thousand  feet  below  their  original 
elevation.  The  sections  Avhich  retained  thoir  altitude  have 
been  eroded  of  all  their  coal  measures  and  of  the  forma- 
tions immediately  below  the  coal  measures,  so  that  the 
Upper  Sihirian  of  the  valley  lies  almost  in  juxtaj)Osition  to 
the  coal  measures,  though  separated  geologically  by  an  im- 
mense ])eriod.  This  theory  is  rendered  probable  from  the 
fact  that  the  strata  of  Walden's  Ridge,  which  runs  parallel 
with  the  Cumberland  Table-land,  are  highly  inclined,  in- 
deed sometimes  vertical,  or  even  beyond  verticality,  making 
the  line  of  a  great  fault,  caused  by  the  downthrow  of  the 
Cumberland  Table-land.  This  geological  event  is  one  that 
has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  value  of  the  mineral 
region  immediately  adjacent  to  the  line  of  railroad.  By  it 
the  coal  and  iron  are  placed  side  by  side,  ready  for  profita- 
ble working.    The  fossil  iron  ore  of  the  Clinton  group  runs 


Cincinnati  Southern  Raihcay.  13'. 

in  almost  unbroken  lines  from  Chattanooga  to  Emory  Gap- 
on  the  line  of  road,  while  the  outcrops  of  coal  on  the  Cum- 
berland Table^land  a  few  furlongs  distant  are  persistent. 
Associated  in  the  same  group  are  the  carboniferous  lime- 
stones, which  form  an  excellent  flux,  and  at  a  short  distance 
the  Trenton  limestones  of  the  Lower  Silurian.  Besides 
these,  the  sandstones  of  the  coal  measures  are  found  in 
many  instances,  suitable  for  making  furnace  hearths.  It 
would  be  difficult  in  any  State  to  find  more  of  the  materials 
for  the  manufacture  of  iron  in  such  proximity.  And  as  the 
construction  of  the  railroad  will  furnish  the  only  thing 
lacking — transportation — the  intelligent  prediction  of  Prof. 
Lesley  in  regard  to  this  region  will  doubtless  be  realized, 
when  he  says:  "A  thousand  collieries  will  be  started  in  the 
mountain,  and  a  thousand  iron  works  will  be  established 
on  the  ores  at  its  foot;  a  thousand  villages,  towns  and  cities 
will  grow  up  in  the  broad  limestone  plain  before  it;  a 
thousand  factories  and  mills  will  make  these  towns  hum 
with  life,  and  all  this  life  will  base  itself  on  the  mountain 
coal  thus  wonderfully  preserved  from  destruction  by  throes 
of  the  earth  in  ancient  days,  which  would  have  obliterated 
every  trace  of  human  life  from  the  continent,  had  the  divine 
invention  of  human  life  been  made."  The  small  valleys 
lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  railroad,  numbering  from  two 
to  three,  between  the  line  of  the  road  and  the  river,  rest 
upon  the  magnesian  limestone  of  the  Knox  formation. 
The  ridges  between  the  valleys  are  composed  of  the  chert 
and  shales  of  the  same  formation.  The  hills  have  a  thin 
barren  soil,  covered  usually  with  a  small  growth  of  timber, 
and  the  soil  is  not  of  sufficient  fertility  to  repay  the  labor 
of  the  husbandman.  The  valleys  are  usually  fertile,  gently 
undulating,  and  form  the  only  arable  land  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  road.  These  valleys  will  average  in  width  about 
half  a  mile.  They  are  thickly  settled,  and  are  for  the  most 
part  cleared  up.     The  timber  supply  is  on  the  ridges.     The 


14  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

raountain  slopes  supply  good  lumbering  trees,  which  will 
be  described  more  in  detail  hereafter. 

Between  Emory  Gap  and  the  Kentucky  State  line  the 
soil  is  derived  from  sandstone,  is  thin  and  unproductive  of 
the  usual  field  crop.  Not  one  acre  in  twenty  has  been 
brought  into  cultivation.  The  Cumberland  Table-land 
loses  much  of  its  plateau  charncter  in  this  ])ortion  of  the 
State.  The  surface  is  usually  rugged,  with  high,  sharp- 
crested  ridges  and  rounded  peaks,  that  soiuotinies  rise  1,500 
feet  above  the  road-bed.  Though  rugged,  the  country  is 
well  timl)ered,  and  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the  ridges  the 
soil  is  very  fertile,  and  the  timber  of  excellent  quality. 
Deep,  canyon-like  gorges  are  cut  by  the  numerous  streams 
deep  in  the  bosom  of  the  mountain.  Some  of  these  streams 
are  walled  in  by  perpendicular  cliffs  of  sandstone  from  300 
to  400  feet  high.  A  few  narrow  valleys  occur  between  the 
foot  of  the  superimposed  ridges,  liut  these  mountain  valleys 
are  not  so  productive  as  the  northern  and  western  slopes  of 
the  ridges. 

From  these  high  mountain  sides  many  fine  chalybeate 
and  other  springs  break  out.  Wild  grasses  spring  up  in 
great  abundance  and  sui)ply  a  rich  forage  fi)r  cattle  and 
sheep.  The  air  is  pure  and  the  region  healthy.  For  the 
growth  of  apples  no  region  is  superior  to  the  country  which 
lies  between  Eraor}'  Gap  and  the  Kentucky  State  line. 
They  never  fail,  and  they  have  a  plumj)ness  and  richness 
of  flavor  rarely  equalled. 

To  sum  uj)  in  bri^f  the  advantages  which  the  country  on 
this  portion  of  the  line  aifords,  we  may  say: 

1.  It  is  healthy.  Consumption  is  almost  unknown  here, 
and  malarious  diseases  seldom  occur.  In  many  places  there 
are  no  doctors  within  twenty  miles.  The  inhabitants  are 
hardy  and  long-lived,  though  living  a  life  of  privation  and 
exposure. 

2.  It  has  an  abundance  of  coal.     Throughout  the  extent 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  ■  15 

of  the  railroad  from  Emory  Gap  to  the  Kentucky  State 
line  every  cut  reveals  more  or  less  coal.  The  seams  are 
sometimes  thin  and  worthless,  but  often  are  from  three  to 
four  feet  thick.  In  the  ridges  above  the  road  better  and 
thicker  seams  are  met  with. 

3.  It  has  a  great  variety  of  valuable  timber.  For  many 
miles  the  line  of  road  traverses  forests  of  the  finest  white 
oak.  On  the  mountain  slopes  are  poplar  and  walnut  in 
great  quantity.  From  Scott  and  Morgan  counties  timber 
enough  to  supply  all  the  agricultural  implement  manufac- 
tories within  reach  of  the  road  for  a  century  to  come,  can 
be  obtained. 

4.  The  forests  qf  chestnut  oak  which  are  usually  found 
upon  the  tops  of  the  ridges  are  very  extensive,  and  are 
capable  of  supplying  millions  of  cords  of  the  very  best 
tan-bark. 

5.  As  a  grazing  region  it  is  very  valuable.  The  wild 
grasses  are  everywhere  abundant,  and  great  herds  of  cattle 
are  fattened  upon  these  wild  grasses  for  the  Northern  mar- 
kets. Goats,  that  thrive  upon  shrubbery,  can  be  reared  at 
nominal  cost.  They  live  throughout  tlie  winter  without 
any  other  food  than  the  buds  of  the  native  shrubs.  Sheep 
also  are  very  hardy  and  do  well. 

6.  An  excellent  situation  for  extensive  apj)le  orchards. 
The  apple  is  the  surest  crop  grown,  and  the  facilities  which 
the  road  -will  afford,  together  with  the  small  outlay  neces- 
sary to  start  an  orchard,  will  make  this  a  famous  region  for 
the  production  of  apples,  and  will  enable  it  to  compete  suc- 
cessfully with  any  portion  of  the  United  States. 

7.  As  a  place  for  summer  resoj-t  it  must  become  famous. 
The  salubrity  of  the  air,  the  excellence  of  the  chalybeate 
springs,  the  high  elevation,  and  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of 
the  natural  scenery,  will  make  it  a  favorite  locality  for 
those  accustomed  to  such  rural  retreats  in  summer. 

8.  For  growing  all   garden  vegetables  the   soil   of  this 


16  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

sandstone  formation  is  well  adapted.  Early  vegetables  can 
be  supplied  to  the  Cincinnati  and  other  markets  at  a 
cheaper  rate  than  from  any  other  point.  Irish  potatoes^ 
cabbage,  onions,  and  indeed  all  root  crops,  grow  to  great 
perfection.  The  Irish  potatoes  especially  are  noted  for 
their  excellence.  Market  gardening  will  doubtless  become 
one  of  the  leading  industries  of  this  mountain  region. 

From  Chattanooga  to  North  Chicamauga. 

Such  is  a  general  view  of  the  country  bordering  the  Cin- 
cinnati Southern  Railroad.     For  the  purpose  of  entering 
into  details,  we  return  to  Chattanooga,  and,  crossing  the 
upper  ferry,  we  find  a  series  of  low  ridges  lying  on  the 
right,  from  which  the  dyestone,  or  fossil  red   hematite,  has 
been  dug  for  many  years.     The  place  of  mining  is  not 
more  than  one  mile  north-east  of  Chattanooga,  and  the  ore 
is  found  in  what  is  called  Stringer's  Hill,  the  third  of  the 
series  of  ridges  from  Walden's  Ridge.     Walden's  Ridge  is 
an  arm  of  the  Cumberland  Table-land,  and  is  eight  miles 
across.    It  is  separated  from  the  main  plateau  by  Sequatchee 
Valley  on  the  west.     The   mining  in   Stringer's   Hill  has 
been  carried  on  in  the  head  of  a  decapitated  fold,  the  strata 
here  all  dipping  to  the  south-east  at  an  angle  of  22  degrees. 
The  iron  ore,  fifteen  inches  thick,  is  found  associated  with 
shales,  several  thin  partings  being  found  in  the  seam.    This 
ore  is  soft  and  its  value   impaired   by   the  commingling 
shale.     The  seam  can  be  traced  many  miles  to  the  north- 
east, but  is  finally  cut  out  by  the  valley  of  North  Chica- 
mauga.   It  may  be  here  mentioned  that  the  railroad  crosses 
Tennessee  river  four  miles  above  Chattanooga,  and  keeps 
the  valley  of  North  Chicamauga  until  it  reaches  the  Ten- 
nessee Valley.     This  ore  is  therefore  not  on  the  line  of  the 
road,  but  is  sufficiently  near  the  river,  which  serves  all 
purposes  of  transportation.     Crossing  a  low  gap  in  Mocca- 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  17 

sins  ridge  going  north,  we  enter 'Tennessee  Valley,  which 
extends  as  far  as  Emory  Gap,  a  distance  of  eighty  miles. 
Bounding  this  valley  on  the  west  is  a  low  ridge  known  as 
Shin  Bone,  which  separates  the  Tennessee  Valley  from 
Back  Valley,  lyine  next  to  the  escarpment  of  Walden's 
Ridge.  Back  Valloy  and  Tennessee  Valley  become  one 
near  the  point  where  Xorth  Chicamauga  breaks  from  the 
mountain.  The  united  valleys  are  one  and  a  half  miles 
wide,  presenting  a  magnificent  farming  area. 

The  first  coal  of  importance  that  presents  itself  is  on 
Walden's  Ridge,  eight  miles  north-west  of  Chattanooga  and 
quite  as  far  from  the  railroad,  though  within  three  mijes  of 
the  Tennessee  River.  It  belongs  to  the  upper  coal  meas- 
ures, and  outcrops  at  the  foot  of  a  ridge  110  feet  high, 
which  rests  upon  the  general  level  of  the  Table-land, 
which  is  here  1,000  feet  high.  This  ridge  extends  towards 
the  north  several  miles  and  is  about  half  a  mile  wide,  sup- 
plying a  large  body  of  coal.  The  seam  is  three  and  a  half 
feet  thick,  and  an  entry  has  been  driven  in  at  the  eastern 
foot  for  the  distance  of  fifty  yards.  Some  15,000  bushels 
of  coal  have  been  taken  out  and  hauled  in  wagons  down 
the  mountain  to  Chattanooga.  It  is  a  hard,  free-burning 
coal,  though  containing  some  sulphur.  Underlying  it  are 
several  feet  of  good  fire-clay.  The  roof  is  of  black  shale, 
and  is  quite  solid.  All  the  strata  are  horizontal.  The 
mine  is  known  as  Crow's  bank.  If  proper  facilities  were 
afforded  lor  conveying  the  coal  to  the  valley  below,  this 
mine,  owing  to  its  proximity  to  Chattanooga,  would  doubt- 
less prove  very  valuable.  At  present  the  cost  of  mining 
and  transportation  to  market  is  nearly  equal  to  the  selling 
price. 

Below  the  bank  on  the  South  is  the  cliffy  rampart  that 
makes  such  a  prominent  and  striking  feature  in  the  escarp- 
ment of  the  Table-land.  Underlying  this  cliff  rock  an- 
other seam  appears,  three  and  a  half  feet  thick.  The  coal 
2 


18  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

is  very  hard.  This  could  be  taken  out  by  the  river,  which 
is  about  two  and  a  half  miles  southr  Other  seams  of  un- 
known thickness  are  seen  along  the  bluffs,  some  of  them 
having  been  worked  to  a  limited  extent  during  the  civil 
war,  and  the  coal  taken  to  Chattanooga  on  barges.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  in  Raccoon  mountain,  are  numer- 
ous seams  of  coal,  which  have  been  worked  at  the  ^Etna 
and  Vulcan  mines  for  many  years.  A  description  of  these 
mines  is  reserved  for  another  part  of  this  work. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  Back  Valley  and  the 
Tennessee  Valley  become  one  where  the  Chicamauga  breaks 
from  the  mountain.  The  gulf  made  by  the  Chicamauga  is 
deep  and  wide,  forming  a  chasm  much  like  an  inverted 
roof,  though  sometimes  the  bluffs  of  sandstone  rise  boldly 
up  for  several  hundred  feet.  Rogers'  creek,  which  is  u 
tributary  of  Chicamauga,  makes  also  a  deep  chasm  in  the 
mountain,  parallel  with  Tennessee  Valley,  leaving  a  high, 
narrow  headland  between  it  and  the  valley,  which  narrows 
to  a  sharp  ridge  where  the  waters  of  Rogers'  creek  and 
Chicamauga  unite.  Each  one  of  these  chasms  exposes  the 
coal  seams  and  makes  them  accessible.  Branch  railroads 
may  be  constructed  up  these  gorges,  so  that  the  coal  may, 
by  chutes,  be  dumped  directly  into  the  cars. 

Fallingwater,  another  stream  tributary  to  North  Chica- 
mauga, and  south  of  Rogers'  creek,  rises  upon  the  plateau 
of  Waldeu's  Ridge  and  flows  in  an  easterly  direction, 
making  a  gorge  of  increasing  width  and  depth  as  it  ap- 
proaches Back  Valley.  Reaching  this  it  turns  north,  run- 
ning about  a  mile,  when  it  cuts  through  Back  Valley  and 
Shin  Bone  Ridge,  passing  in  a  south-easterly  direction 
through  Tennessee  Valley  into  North  Chicamauga.  The 
point  of  its  confluence  with  the  latter  stream  is  ten  miles 
(north,  20  degrees  east)  from  Chattanooga.  Where  Fall- 
ingwater breaks  through  Shin  Bone  Ridge  there  is  a  bluff 
which  shows  an   antilincal  fold,  the   rocks  dipping  at  an 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  19 

average  angle  of  32  degrees  to  the  north-west  and  south- 
east. In  the  south-west  dip  several  seams  of  dyestone  ore 
are  seen  interstratified  with  a  shale  highly  calcareous.  A 
section  taken  at  this  place,  beginning  at  the  lowest  exposed 
strata  and  ascending,  shows : 

Shale 25  feet. 

Dyestone  ore 9  inches. 

Shale  and  flaggy  sandstones 1  foot. 

Dyestone  ore 13  inches. 

Shale  2.6  feet. 

Dyestone  ore 6  inches. 

Shale 4  feet. 

Dyestone  ore 4  inches. 

Shale,  brownish fi  feet. 

Dyestone  ore 6  inches. 

Shales  and  sandstones,  tliin  and  flaggy,  above. 

The  specimens  of  iron  ore  taken  from  this  place  show  a 
large  amount  of  siliceous  matter.  The  ore  contains  but 
few  fossils,  and  is  very  hard.  It  has  never  been  used  in 
any  furnace. 

By  the  confluence  of  Fallingwater  with  North  Chica- 
niauga  a  sufficient  volume  of  water  is  obtained  to  run  raa- 
cliinery.  Two  mills  are  in  operation  between  this  point 
and  the  mouth  of  North  Chicamauga.  Ascending  the  gulf 
cut  by  Fallingwater  to  the  mouth  of  Mill  creek,  and^turn- 
ing  up  the  latter  stream,  several  goodj  seams  of  coal  are 
seen.  Going  to  the  top  of  Walden's  Ridge  and  descending, 
the  first  outcrop  is  found  two  hundred  yards  on  the  north 
side  of  Mill  creek,  in  the  head  of  a  cross  ravine,  the  water 
from  wliich  passes  down  Rogers'  creek,  a  tributary  of 
North  Chicamauga.  The  coal  at  the  outcrop  is  one  foot 
thick,  but  increases  to  eighteen  inches  by  going  in  twelve 
feet.  The  seam  is  horizontal,  with  black'^shale  below  and 
soft,  blue  shale  above.  The  coal  is  hard,  lustrous,  and 
cubical,  of  excellent  quality,  and  free  from  iron  pyrite.  It 
belongs  to  the  upper  measures,  the  conglomerate  appearing 
lower  down  on  the  mountain,  and  may  be  the  equivalent 


20  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

of  the  Sewanee  seam.  The  distance  of  this  coal  from  the 
railroad  is  two  miles. 

Passing  now  in  our  descent  from  the  mountain  in  a 
southerly  direction  over  the  dividing  ridge  between  the 
headwaters  of  Rogers'  creek  and  Mill  creek,  another  seam 
ninety-five  feet  below  has  been  opened  on  the  south  side  of 
Mill  creek.  The  coal  at  this  place  is  spurmous  and  porous, 
but  free  from  sulphur.  The  seam  dips  gently  to  the  south, 
is  two  and  a  half  feet  thick,  with  a  good  hard  slate  roof 
and  sandstone  bottom.  The  same  seam  has  been  opened 
two  hundred  yards  further  down  the  stream.  The  differ- 
ence in  level  is  very  slight,  as  shown  by  the  barometer,  not 
more  than  four  or  five  feet,  which  the  dip  of  the  strata  here 
will  readily  account  for.  The  coal  at  this  latter  opening 
(Wilkerson's)  is  one  foot  thick  at  the  outcrop,  increasing  to 
2.3  feet  at  the  distance  of  forty  feet,  which  is  as  far  as  the 
gangway  has  been  driven.  Overlying  it  is  a  gray  slate,  and 
beneath  three  feet  of  fire-clay,  which  rests  upon  a  bed  of 
sandstone.  This  seam  lies  included  between  two  layers  of 
conglomerate  rock,  one  200  feet  above  and  the  other  40 
feet  below.  It  is  doubtless  the  san  r*  cpam  which  is  interpo- 
lated in  the  lower  conglomerate  in  White  county  and  other 
places. 

By  far  the  most  interesting  development  of  coal  on  the 
waters  of  Mill  Creek  is  seen  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below 
"Wilkerson's  Bank,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  The 
coal  here  appears  under  the  thick  sandstone  cliff  194  feet 
below  Wilkerson's.  The  sandstone  immediately  above  the 
coal  is  about  60  feet  in  thickness,  with  a  superimposed  back 
bench  of  sandstone  80  feet  thick.  At  the  outcrop  this  coal 
is  21  inches  in  thickness,  with  14  inches  of  soft,  shaly  sand- 
stone below.  Still  beneath  this  is  a  hard  white  sandstone. 
The  soft  bed  of  sandstone  disappears  at  the  distance  of  30 
yards,  and  a  black  bituminous  shale  takes  its  place.  The 
coal  also  increases  to  39  inches.     The  top  consists  of  a  hard,. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  21 

ferruginous  sandstone,  with  no  shale.  The  surface  is  in 
waves,  with  occasionally  heavy  swells  and  flat  convexities, 
giving  the  coal  a  variable  thickness.  Near  the  termination 
of  the  entry,  which  is  96  feet  long,  there  is  a  slight  uplift 
in  the  floor,  of  a  foot,  and  a  much  greater  one  in  the  roof. 
The  entry  dips  at  the  rate  of  three  inches  to  the  yard. 

This  seam  unquestionably  corresponds  with  the  cliff  seam 
as  found  on  the  western  side  of  the  Cumberland  Table-land. 
(See  Little  Sequatchee  Coal  Field.)  The  coal  taken  from 
the  entry  presents  a  singular  aspect.  It  is  semi-lustrous 
and  porous.  The  laminjB  are  well  defined,  but  are  curved 
and  rolled  into  an  infinite  number  of  plications,  showing  at 
the  same  time  a  fibrous  structure  undisturbed  across  the 
general  plane  of  lamination,  very  much  like  ice  half  melted 
in  the  sun,  splitting  easily  across  the  laminated  surface  into 
basaltiform  or  columnar  masses.  It  comes  out  in  great 
blocks,  and  presents  a  handsome  appearance.  About  1,000 
bushels  have  been  mined  at  this  point,  and  the  product  used 
in  the  neighboring  blacksmith  shops,  where  it  is  greatly 
prized  for  its  excellent  welding  and  heating  properties. 

The  descent  to  the  line  of  railroad,  one  and  a  half  miles 
distant,  is  rapid.  To  the  valley  below,  half  a  mile,  there  is 
a  fall  of  between  700  and  800  feet.  From  the  bottom,  just 
below  the  mine,  to  the  railroad,  the  surface  is  level.  To 
■convey  the  coal  to  the  railroad,  therefore,  an  incline  would 
be  required  to  carry  it  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and 
from  thence  by  a  switch  to  the  main  track. 

One  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet  below  this  cliff  seam  is 
the  outcrop  of  another  seam  14  inches  thick.  This  is 
capped  by  20  feet  of  siliceous  brown  and  black  shales,  with 
two  feet  of  fire  clay  beneath  the  coal,  resting  upon  sand- 
stone. The  quality  of  the  coal  from  this  seam  can  hardly 
be  determined,  as  only  the  crumbling  outcrop  has  been 
taken  out.  The  specimens  I  saw  are  not  so  compact  as 
ithose  from  the  cliff  seam  above,  but  resemble  the  Rockwood 


22  Resources  of  Temiessee  Along  the 

coal,  being  fragile,  shelly  and  soft,  showing  no  columnar 
structure.  Some  thin  seams  of  mineral  charcoal  are  found 
interlaminated  with  it,  and  also  some  specimens  exhibiting 
a  beautiful  irridescence.  The  laminee  are  considerably  dis- 
turbed, and  are  easily  separable,  showing  a  surface  which 
glistens  like  highly  polished  leather.  It  is  clean,  and  com- 
paratively free  from  sulphur.  The  same  seam  has  been 
worked  to  a  limited  extent  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
creek,  where  it  shows  a  thickness  of  18  inches,  with  a  ten- 
dency to  a  greater  thickness  as  the  entry  is  extended. 

The  plateau  and  slopes  of  the  mountain  above  are  well 
wooded.  Pine,  white  oak,  red  oak  and  chestnut  are  abun- 
dant on  the  plateau,  while  upon  the  margin  of  the  streams 
poplar,  hemlock,  maple,  black  gum  and  holly  are  seen. 
The  steep  slopes  to  the  valley  abound  with  good  lumber 
trees.  The  soil  of  the  valleys,  once  very  productive,  has 
been  much  injured  by  overcropping,  and  by  a  want  of 
proper  rest,  rotation  and  clovering.  Many  of  the  slopes 
are  worn  down  to  the  red  clay,  and  their  fertility  utterly 
destroyed.  These  places  show  with  a  painful  prominence.. 
Corn,  oats,  and  wheat  are  the  principal  crops  grown  in  the 
valley,  but  the  yield  is  not  more  than  half  as  great  as  when 
the  land  was  fresh.  Thirty  bushels  per  acre  are  considered 
a  good  yield  for  corn,  ten  for  wheat  and  twenty-five  for 
oats.  With  a  judicious  system  of  tillage  these  yields  might 
be  largely  increased.  Corn  forms  almost  the  sole  article 
of  export,  with  the  exception  of  dried  fruit,  eggs,  feathers 
and  butter.  Ginseng  is  found  in  the  mountain  coves  to  a 
limited  extent,  but  the  product  is  yearly  diminishing. 

Feom  Noeth  Chicamauga  to  Soddy  Creek  Mines. 

Crossing  the  North  Chicamauga  near  the  location  of  the 
railroad  bridge,  and  ascending  the  mountain  by  a  very  steep 
pathway  on  the  Veft,  we  get  first  upon  a  bench  about  two- 


Cincinnati  Southern  JRailway.  23 

thirds  of  the  way  to  the  top  of  the  mountain.  The  surface 
of  this  bench  is  covered  with  a  hixuriant  growth  of  wild 
grasses  in  summer,  which  supply  ample  forage  for  great 
herds  of  cattle.  The  woods  are  open,  no  underbrush  any- 
where obstructing  the  view.  The  overlooking  bluffs  are  of 
shelving  sandstones,  where  many  rock  houses  are  seen — 
natural  shelters  for  stock  against  the  heats  of  summer  or 
the  chill  winds  of  winter.  Keaching  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain, which  is  here,  as  measured  by  the  barometer,  1,134 
feet  above  the  valley,  we  find  the  surface  very  level  and 
well  timbered  with  chestnut  oak.  The  conglomerate  rocks 
are  everywhere  displayed,  sometimes  rising  up  above  the 
surface  in  great  masses,  the  erosion  curving  them  into  many 
fantastic  shapes.  This  stretch  of  level  land  extends  from 
the  gorge  of  the  North  Chicamauga  to  Soddy  Creek,  about 
eight  miles,  with  scarcely  a  break  that  would  interfere  with 
the  construction  of  a  railroad.  The  soil  on  this  plateau  is 
rather  better  than  most  of  the  soil  of  the  Table-land.  On 
Poe's  turnpike,  which  forms  the  highway  from  Dunlap  in 
Sequatchee  Valley,  across  Walden's  Ridge  to  the  Tennessee 
Valley,  a  few  farms  of  moderate  fertility  are  met  with. 
Upon  these  farms  are  grown  wheat,  sorghum,  corn,  oats, 
Irish  potatoes,  beans,  cabbage,  and  garden  vegetables  gen- 
erally. The  soil,  however,  is  not  well  adapted  to  the  growth 
of  Indian  corn  and  sorghum.  Apple  trees  flourish,  are 
long-lived,  and  bear  well.  Peaches,  it  is  said,  do  better 
here  than  on  the  western  side  of  the  mountain.  Herds 
grass  springs  up  spontaneously,  and  is  the  main  reliance  of 
farmers  for  hay.  Clover,  by  the  application  of  a  small 
quantity  of  gypsum,  proves  a  profitable  crop,  both  as  a  fer- 
tilizer and  for  grazing.  Upon  clover  sod  a  fair  crop  of  In- 
dian corn  or  wheat  may  be  grown.  Some  good  farmers 
upon  the  plateau  make  from  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  ot 
corn  per  acre,  thdugh  the  usual  average  is  not  above  six  or 
eight.     The  timber  supply  is  ample.     Large  white  oaks, 


24  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

easily  rived,  and  of  a  toughness  that  makes  the  timber  of 
especial  value  for  the  wagon-maker,  are  numerous.  Yellow 
pines  two  and  a  half  fpet  in  diameter  are  found  in  clusters. 
Chestnut,  chestnut  oak,  red  oak,  black  oak,  and  gum  grow 
everywhere  in  profusion.  Walnut  occurs  in  the  coves,  and 
sometimes,  though  rarely,  upon  the  top  of  the  mountain. 
Chinquapins  and  chestnuts  are  so  abundant  as  to  form  arti- 
cles of  export. 

On  this  charming  plateau  between  North  Chicamauga 
and  Soddy  a  curious  lake  occurs,  not  far  from  the  northern 
bank  of  the  Chicamauga.  A  ridge,  elevated  considerably 
above  the  general  level,  overlooks  the  Chicamauga  gulf  on 
the  south.  Half  a  mile  north  of  this  ridge' there  has  been 
a  drop  in  the  mountain,  exposing  a  perpendicular  sandstone 
bluff  100  feet  high.  The  lake  lies  at  the  foot  of  this  bluff', 
and  is  deeply  set  in  the  bosom  of  the  mountain.  In  shape 
it  is  elliptical,  and  resembles  a  large  tureen  embedded  in 
the  plateau.  The  water  is  at  least  fifty  feet  below  the  top 
of  the  surrounding  bluffs,  and  the  edge  of  tlie  water  can  be 
reached  only  by  a -precipitous  path  on  the  eastern  side.  The 
lake  is  100  yards  in  its  longest  diameter,  and  about  75  yards 
in  its  shortest.  Its  depth  is  unknpwn.  No  rude  ])lummet 
of  the  mountaineer  has  ever  been  able  to  fathom  its  waters, 
though  many  attempts  have  })een  made.  The  water  is  very 
cold,  and  of  a  sky  blue  color.  •  It  never  becomes  muddy, 
even  in  a  rainy  season.  It  has  no  perqeptible  outlet  or 
inlet.  During  the  dry  months  in  summer  the  water  recedes 
some  two  or  three  feet,  leaving  exjiosed  a  narrow  rocky 
beach  next  to  the  steep  walls  that  environ  it.  The  surface 
of  these  walls  is  beautifully  scolloped  by  the  motion  of  the 
water.  Viewed  from  above  it  appears  motionless,  and 
looks  as  though  no  wind  could  ever  ruffle  its  calm,  clear 
surface.  No  fish  disport  in  its  waters,  and  yet  it  would 
seem  to  be  a  very  paradise  for  tiie  trout,  for  the  rearing  of 
which  it  will  no  doubt  in  time  be  utilized. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  25 

North  Chioamauga  has  several  tributaries  from  the  north. 
Among  them  are  Hog  Pen  Branch,  Four  Mile  Branch, 
Yellow  Spring,  Cooper  Creels,  Panther  Creek,  and  Cane 
Creek.  These  streams  have  cut  deep  furrows  in  the  moun- 
tain which  are  difficult  to  pass.  They  are  from  one  hun- 
dred to  five  hundred  feet  deep.  Up  near  their  sources  are 
some  level  bottoms  bordering  them,  but  most  generally- 
their  banks  are  precipitous.  Cane  Creek,  one  of  the  largest 
tributaries  of  North  Chicamauga,  flows  in  a  very  deep,  nar- 
row chasm,  much  like  a  canyon.  The  bluffs  are  of  sand- 
stone, and  often  overhang  their  base  fifteen  or  twenty  feet. 
Talus  has  accumulated  at  the  base  of  these  bluffs  so  as  to 
give  a  slope  to  the  water's  edge.  This  talus-slope  is  fringed 
by  trees  forming  a  green  tortuous  line  in  summer,  several 
hundred  feet  below  the  general  top  of  the  plateau.  When 
once  in  these  gorges,  one  has  to  walk  oftentimes  many  miles 
before  any  place  of  ascent  can  be  found. 

The  process  of  erosion  as  shown  in  these  bluffs  furnishes 
a  curious  study.  The  water  trickles  down  from  above  and 
enters  the  crevices  of  the  rocks  where  they  are  often  shaded 
by  the  jutting  layers  of  sandstone.  Here  it  freezes  and 
acts  as  w'edges,  splitting  off  great  slabs  in  vertical  lines 
from  the  mountain  mnss.  Often  the  exposed  surface  is 
covered  with  thin  incrustations  of  the  carbonate  of  lime, 
which  has  been  deposited  on  the  rocks  by  the  trickling 
waters.  From  what  source  the  waters  become  charged 
with  calcareous  matter  it  would  be  difficult  to  tell. 

Coal  crops  out  in  many  places  in  the  gulf  of  North 
Chicamauga,  showing  three  or  four  seams  of  workable 
thickness.  At  one  place  on  Cane  creek,  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  above  its  mouth,  are  some  interesting  objects.  The 
bottom  of  the  stream  is  covered  with  immense  sandstone 
boulders,  making  its  ascent  exceedingly  difficult  even  when 
the  water  is  low  enough  to  permit  one  to  jump  from  rock 
to  rock.     At  some  points  the  masses  of  sandstone  lie  piled 


26  Resources  of  Tenyiessee  Along  the 

up  in  inextricable  confusion,  mingled  with  great  drifts  of 
dead  timber,  so  as  almost  to  bid  defiance  to  any  progress. 
At  the  distance  from  the  mouth  mentioned,  a  rock  house 
occurs  on  the  left  bank,  the  floor  of  which  is  nearly  level 
with  the  water.  The  roof  at  the  outer  edge  is  thirty  feet 
high,  but  curves  down  to  the  floor  at  the  distance  of  twenty 
yards  or  more.  In  this  rock  house  is  a  small  furnace  stack, 
which  the  inhabitants  say  has  existed  beyond  the  memory 
of  any  person  now  living  on  the  mountain.  A  fine  cha- 
lybeate spring  breaks  out  at  the  back  part  of  this  rock 
house,  and  traces  of  coal  are  met  with  where  the  floor  and 
roof  unite.  The  most  noticeable  feature,  however,  are  the 
seams  of  coal  interwoven  with  the  conglomerate  rock  over- 
head. They  run  in  every  conceivaljle  direction  through 
the  rock,  as  though  boiled  up  with  the  sandstune  when  in  a 
plastic  state.  Fossils  of  the  lepidodtndron  and  siggillaria 
present  themselves  all  over  the  roof.  The  thickest  coal 
seam  is  about  one  foot,  and  this  runs  in  a  wavy,  twisting 
line  through  the  mass  of  conglomerate. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  near  the  sources  of 
these  streams  some  wide  bottoms  occur.  The  soils  of  these 
bottoms  differ  from  that  of  the  plateau,  in  having  more 
clay  in  their  composition.  In  color  these  soils  are  gray; 
in  consistency,  waxy;  and  in  constitution,  heavy  and  cold. 
The  timber  indicates  the  difference  in  soils,  being  in  the 
bottoms  mostly  poplar,  pine,  and  the  red  flowering  maple. 

The  grazing  privileges  of  the  plateau  under  considera- 
tion are  very  valuable.  The  earliest  mountain  grass  ap- 
pears about  the  15th  of  April.  This  is  the  mountain  sedge, 
and  supplies  good  grazing  until  toughened  by  the  heats  of 
July  and  August.  The  golden  rod,  rich  weed,  wild  tea, 
wild  oats,  beggars'  lice,  and  some  others,  supply  successive 
grazing  crops  until  the  first  of  October,  when  the  winter- 
green,  a  delicate  grass  with  flat  blades,  not  unlike  the  blue 
grass,  comes  up  and  keeps  green   tiiroughout  the  winter. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  27 

It  is  not  affected  by  the  rigor  of  winter,  and  to  its  nutri- 
tious qualities  much  of  the  stock  of  the  Table-land  owe 
their  means  of  surviving  the  winter.  Cattle  relish  it,  and 
prefer  it  to  any  other  grass,  though  it  is  not  so  abundant  as 
the  mountain  sedge. 

SoDjDY  Creek  Mines. 

Soddy  creek,  a  small  tributary  of  the  Tennessee  river, 
has  two  forks,  the  more  southern  being  called  Little  Soddy, 
and  the  more  northern,  Soddy,  it  being  considered  the 
main  stream.  Both  of  these  branches  have  carved  deep 
notches  in  the  side  of  the  mountain.  On  the  side  of  the  gulf 
formed  by  Little  Soddy,  six  hundred  yards  from  its  conflu- 
ence with  the  main  stream,  four  miles  west  from  the  Ten- 
nessee, eighteen  miles  north-east  of  Chattanooga,  and  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  line  of  raihx  rd,  the  Soddy  mines  have 
been  opened.  The  section,  as  taken  here,  shows  eight 
seams  of  coal.  Beginning  at  tlic  top  of  the  mountain  on 
the  north  side  of  Little  Soddy,  and  overlooking  that 
stream,  we  have  section  on  next  page: 


28 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


Coal.         Section.         Name  of  Materials. 


Thick- 
ness. 


ft. 


Surface., 


Sandstone.. 


Shale  

COAL. 

Gray  Shale. 


COAL. 
Fire-clay 

Sandy  Shale. 

COAL. 

Sandy  Shale. 

COAL. 
Fire-clay 


Sandstone.. 


Shale 

COAL. 
Fire-clay. 


Black  Shale.. 
COAL. 
Gray  Shale... 


COAL. 
Fire-clay. 


Shaly  Sandstone. 
COAL. 


Sandstone . 


Ft. 


Red  Shale 

Mountain  Limestone.. 


100 

13 
2 

40: 

35 

8 
40 

50 

18 

523 


Oincinnati  Southern  Raihvay.  2^ 

The  fourth  seam  from  the  top  is  the  one  now  worked, 
and  has  a  slight  dip  to  the  west.  Overlying  the  coal  is  a 
hard  black  shale,  which  makes  a  hard,  solid  and  safe  roof. 

The  main  gangway  is  about  300  yards  long.  On  the  left 
are  two  cross  entries,  one  of  which  extends  to  the  distance 
of  350  yards,  and  the  second  about  half  as  far.  On  the 
right  there  is  only  one  cross  entry,  which  is  about  100 
yards  long.  The  rooms  are  worked  sixteen  yards  wide, 
with  road  in  the  center,  and  slack  or  "gob"  on  each  side. 
The  general  average  of  the  seam  is  about  three  feet,  making 
the  amount  of  dead  work,  caused  by  taking  up  a  part  of 
the  floor  for  the  purpose  of  heightening  the  entries,  cost 
about  twenty-five  cents  to  the  ton  of  coal.  The  work  is 
carried  on  by  a  system  of  pillars  and  rooms,  the  pillarS 
being  eight  yards  wide  between  the  main  entry  and  the 
room,  with  four  yards  between  each  room.  The  mines  are 
drained  by  a  syphon  pipe,  2 J  inches  in  diameter.  "When 
the  second  entry  shall  have  been  driven  in  to  unite  with 
the  first,  the  mines  will  drain  themselves.  Ventilation  is 
effected  by  a  furnace  and  shaft.  A  second  entry  has  been 
made  about  fifty  yards  north  of  the  main  entry,  and  is 
eighty  yards  long.  There  is  only  one  cross  entry  in  this, 
ninety-six  yards  long,  with  nine  rooms.  In  these  rooms 
the  coal  will  average  three  and  a  half  feet  thick,  and  some- 
times reaches  four  feet  or  more.  For  driving  main  entries, 
eight  feet  wide  and  six  feet  high,  $5.50  per  yard  is  paid; 
for  cross  entries,  five  to  seven  feet,  §3.50  per  yard.  The 
number  of  miners  at  present  (December,  1876)  employed 
in  these  mines  is  twenty-one,  who  raise  an  average  of  sixty 
bushels  each  per  day.  Nineteen  other  persons  are  employed 
as  drivers,  weighers,  etc.  The  wages  paid  range  from  one 
dollar  to  two  and  a  quarter  per  day.  The  amount  of  coal 
raised  and  shipped  from  September  1,  1875,  to  September 
1,  1876,  was  240,655  bushels.  The  amount  for  the  year 
1875  was  177,309;  for  1876  to  December    223,939.    The 


'30  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

estimated  cost  of  mining  is  three  cents  per  bushel,  and  the 
cost  of  getting  it  to  market,  in  Chattanooga,  about  the 
same.  The  amount  of  capital  invested  is  $20,000.  The 
-coal  is  taken  down  the  mountain  by  an  incline  two  hundred 
yards  long,  where  it  is  dumped  into  a  chute,  and  the  larger 
cars  beneath,  holding  each  sixty-five  bushels,  are  loaded. 
These  are  drawn  by  mules,  on  a  tram-road  tliree  miles  long, 
to  a  point  on  Soddy  creek,  where  the  coal  is  loaded  in 
barges,  holding  3,500  bushels  each,  and  floated  to  Chatta- 
nooga. When  the  water  is  high  the  barges  can  be  carried 
from  the  place  of  loading  on  Soddy  creek  to  Chattanooga 
in  six  hours,  but  double  that  time  is  required  in  a  low  stage 
of  water.  This  coal  finds  a  ready  market  in  Chattanooga, 
'owing  to  its  excellent  quality.  It  is  highly  bituminous, 
burns  with  a  bright,  ruddy  flame,  and  is  a  good  binding 
coal.  It  shows  in  its  structure  but  little  lamination,  but 
resembles  blocks  of  pitch,  with  shining  black  specks. 

The  mine  was  originally  leased  by  a  company  of  twenty 
Welshmen,  who  agreed  to  pay  a  royalty  of  one  cent  per 
bushel.  This  company  liaving  failed,  the  property  passed 
into  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  The  royalty  has  been  reduced 
to  half  a  cent  per  bushel. 

These  mines  are  capable  of  indefinite  expansion,  and 
when  the  railroad  shall  be  completed,  they  will  become  one 
of  the  most  valuable  coal  properties  in  the  State.  About 
four  acres  of  coal  have  been  taken  out,  and  the  average 
per  acre  so  far  from  one  seam  has  been  over  3,000  tons. 
Several  seams  above  and  below  this  have  been  thoroughly 
tested.  The  one  immediately  above  is  very  free  from  im- 
purities, and  is  preferred  by  blacksmiths. 

Higher  uj)  the  gorge  of  Little  Soddy,  about  half  a  mile 
above  the  point  now  worked,  the  same  seam  has  an  outcrop 
of  six  feet  two  inches  thick.  The  difficulty  and  outlay 
necessary  to  reach  this  place  have  prevented  any  work  from 
being  done. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Raliray.  31 

A  milling  village  has  sprung  up  in*  the  valley  below  the 
mines,  beyond  the  line  of  railroad.  It  has  a  post-office, 
two  stores,  two  schools,  two  churches,  and  a  p()])ulation  of 
about  two  hundred.      .  ' 

The  valley  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  at  this  place 
is  a  mile  wide.  Much  of  it  near  the  mountain,  however,  is 
rendered  comparatively  worthless  by  the  prevalence  of 
large  sandstones,  that  have  tumbled  down  from  the  face  of 
the  mountain.  In  some  places  these  sandstones  have  crum- 
bled, by  the  action  of  the  weather,  lea.ving  great  thick 
layers  of  ferruginous  sand,  which  is  infertile.  The  cultiva- 
ble portions  of  the  bottoms  are  moderately  ju'oductive. 
Herdsgrass,  timothy  and  clover  are  sown  for  h:iy,  which 
yield  from  one  to  one  and  a  half  tons  per  acre,  clover 
making  the  largest  yield  and  herdsgrass  the  least.  The 
yield  of  corn  per  acre  is  25  bushels;  wheat,  10  bushels; 
oats,  35  bushels;  sweet  potatoes,  75  bushels;  Irish  potatoes, 
about  100  bushels.  Nearly  all  the  corn  and  hay  are  fed  to 
cattle,  and  l^ie  latter  are  driven  to  Chattanooga. 

After  passing  the  village,  Soddy  creek  cuts  through  a 
series  of  ridges  nearly  at  right  angles,  making  a  bottom  of 
moderate  width  to  the  Tennessee  river.  The  bottoms  ou 
the  latter  stream  are  very  wide,  and  of  unbounded  fertility. 
Probably  there  is  no  soil  in  any  State  that  matures  such 
large  quantities  of  Indian  corn.  About  500,000  bushels 
are  shipped  annually  from  the  different  landings  between 
Chattanooga  and  Kingston,  nearly  all  of  which  is  raised  on 
the  Tennessee  bottoms  and  islands.  The  productiveness  of 
these  bottoms  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre  is  the  rental  price,  the  lat- 
ter for  island  farms.  Some  of  these  island  farms  have  been 
sold  since  the  war  for  prices  varying  from  $100  to  $210  per 
acre.  The  overflows,  which  deposit  a  large  amount  of 
sediment,  keep  the  soil  in  a  high  condition  of  fertility,  and 
permit  it  to  be  cultivated  every  year  without  any  apparent 


32  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

diminution  in  its  productive  capacity.  Mr.  Tom  Crutch- 
field,  who  has  a  bottom  farm  four  miles  above  Chattanooga, 
raised  120  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.  The  annual  aver- 
age, however,  on  the  best  lowlands,  is  about  seventy-five 
bushels.  The  great  diifereuce  in  the  producing  capacity  of 
the  Tennessee  bottoms  and  those  lying  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cumberland  Table-laud,  arises  from  their  inherent  differ- 
ence in  constitution.  The  former  are  fed  by  the  limestone 
bluffs  that  overhang  them,  as  well  as  by  the  sedimentary 
deposits  from  the  river;  the  latter  have  no  new  supplies  of 
fertility.  The  cherty  ridges  on  the  east,  and  the  sandstone 
bluffs  on  the  west,  are  deficient  in  plant  food,  and  the  bot- 
toms lying  between  lack  the  calcareous  element  so  neces- 
sary to  a  prolific  yield  of  the  cereals. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  good  timber  of  the  valleys  has 
been  exhausted.  The  bounding  ridges  and  mountain  sides, 
however,  supply  it  in  any  desirable  quantity.  The  yellow 
pine  is  abundant.  This  is  converted  into  lumber,  and  sold 
at  the  saw-mills  at  |15  per  thousand;  white  (jiak,  from  $10 
to  $12.50  per  thousand.  A  small  quantity  of  walnut  and 
ash  are  found  in  the  coves  of  the  mountains  between  Chat- 
tanooga and  Soddy  creek,  but  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
deserve  special  mention. 

From  Soddy  Creek  to  Sale  Creek. 

This  section  includes  a  distance  of  twelve  miles  along 
the  line  of  railroad.  The  first  place  worthy  of  notice  is 
O'Possum  creek,  four  miles  above  Soddy,  which,  though  a 
wet  weather  stream,  has  left  its  deep  gulf  in  the  side  of  the 
mountain.  It  is  also  a  tributary  of  the  Tennessee,  cutting 
its  way,  like  Soddy  creek,  at  right  angles  through  the  series 
of  ridges  lying  between  the  mountain  and  Tennessee  river. 
This  stream  exposes  some  fine  seams  of  coal  in  the  moun- 
tain gorges.     One  outcrop,  within   20  feet  of  the  stream 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  33 

bed,  shows  over  two  feet  of  good  coal,  which  would  doubt- 
less become  a  three  foot  seam  at  a  short  distance.  Two  or 
more  good  exposures  are  found  in  the  bluffs  above.  A 
small  quantity  has  been  taken  out  of  the  lowest  seam  for 
blacksmith  purposes,  and  is  said  to  be  a  very  "strong"  coal. 
At  the  outcrops  the  seams  at  this  place  are  quite  as  promis- 
ing as  at  Soddy  creek,  and  a  little  prospecting  would  no 
doubt  reveal  excellent  coal  of  good  thickness.  At  one  place 
near  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  on  the  right  of  the  stream, 
the  coal  shows  3^  feet.  Another  promising  outcrop  is  on 
Ritchee's  branch,  that  runs  north  into  O'Possum.  The 
mountain  here  has  not,  however,  as  great  an  elevation  as  at 
Soddy  by  150  feet,  and  the  three  higher  seams  are  probably 
wanting.  This  would  leave,  however,  the  seam  now  worked 
at  Soddy,  which  is  doubtless  the  coal  near  the  top,  showing 
3|  feet. 

The  topographical  features  of  the  section  embraced  be- 
tween Soddy  creek  and  O'Possum  are  slightly  varied  by  the 
nearer  approach  of  the  parallel  ridges.  From  compara- 
tively flat  bottoms  below,  with  a  U  form,  in  this  section 
they  take  a  V  shape,  or  are  trough-like,  with  but  a'  small 
quantity  of  arable  land.  The  slopes  of  the  ridges,  where 
gentle  in  their  acclivity,  have  been  brought  into  cultivation, 
but  they  are  scarcely  more  productive  than  the  level  moun- 
tain plateau  900  feet  above.  The  geological  continuity  pre- 
vails here  as  lower  down  the  valleys:  the  Knox  chert  on 
the  ridges  next  the  Tennessee  river,  and  the  Clinton  or 
Dyestone  group  next  to  the  mountain,  though  there  is  a 
noticeable  absence  of  red  fossil  iron  ore  for  many  miles. 
Some  few  specimens  of  brown  heinatite  are  seen  at  the  foot 
of  the  ridges,  but  it  probably  exists  nowhere  in  this  section 
in  workable  quantities. 

The  section  made  through  the  river  ridges  by  O'Possum 
creek  makes  a  bottom  half  mile  wide  and  four  miles  long, 
with  a  soil  much  like  that  on  Soddy  creek,  being  largely 
3 


34  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

intermixed  with  sand,  having  a  yellowish  cast,  and  inter- 
spersed with  blocks  of  sandstone. 

Sale  Creek  Mines. 

These  mines  are  situated  nine  miles  north-east  of  Soddy 
on  Rocky  creek,  a  tributary  of  Sale  creek,  which  empties 
into  the  Tennessee  river.  The  operations  at  Sale  Creek 
Mines  are  now  susj)ended,  and  work  will  not  be  resumed 
until  the  completion  of  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad. 
Formerly  the  coal  was  carried  by  a  tramway  four  and  a 
half  miles  long  to  Sale  creek,  from  which  place  it  was 
floated  in  barges  down  the  Tennessee  river.  These  mines 
were  successfully  worked  up  to  1875,  at  which  time  a  flood 
washed  away  the  tram-road  and  bridges,  so  crippling  the 
company  that  work  was  suspended.  The  topography  of 
the  region  around  these  mines  presents  some  singular  fea- 
tures. Rocky  creek  runs  out  at  right  angles  from  a  series 
of  broken  knobs  bordering  the  main  mountain,  and  empties 
into  Sale  creek  one  and  a  half  miles  below  the  mines.  Near 
the  bajps  of  the  mountain  it  has  three  branches,  one  coming 
from  the  north,  one  from  the  south,  and  one  from  the  west. 
These  streams  all  unite  back  of  the  range  of  hills,  and  near 
the  base  of  the  mountain.  The  most  southern,  called  dem- 
ons creek,  separates  in  part  the  southern  outlying  knob  or 
ridge  from  Walden's  Ridge.  This  outlying  spur  is  known 
as  Shin  Bone  ridge,  though  geologically  it  differs  entirely 
from  the  rirlge  of  the  same  name  at  Fallingwater,  the  latter 
belonging  to  the  Clinton  or  Dyestone  group,  and  the  former 
to  the  coal  formations.  This  ridge  extends  as  far  south  as 
O'Possum  creek,  where  it  unites  with  Walden's  Ridge.  In 
Shin  Bone  ridge  the  coal  has  been  worked  in  two  places, 
one  on  the  western  and  the  other  on  the  northern  slope, 
facing  Rocky  creek.  The  seam  worked  in  this  ridge  is  four 
feet  thick  near  the  outcroop,  but  squeezes  down  in  some 
places  to  one  foot  or  less,  and  swelling  out  at  times  to  six 


Cincinnati  Southern  Raihoay.  35 

feet.  The  entries  here  were  abandoned  because  of  a  fault. 
The  general  dip  of  the  seam  is  slightly  to  the  west,  but 
throughout  it  shows  much  disturbance,  as  though  the  whole 
ridge  had  been  torn  violently  from  the  main  mountain  mass 
of  Walden's  Ridge.  During  the  eight  years  these  entries 
M'ere  worked  1,140,000  bushels  of  excellent  coal  were 
taken  out. 

When  the  operations  of  the  company  on  the  south  side 
of  Ilocky  creek  were  arrested  by  the  fault,  a  new  opening 
was  made  on  the  northern  side  in  the  same  outlying  ridge, 
but  bisected  by  Rocky  creek.  On  the  northern  side  of  the 
creek  this  ridge  does  not  extend  further  than  one  mile,  and 
resembles  a  great  irregular  leaf  attached  by  its  stem  to 
Walden's  Ridge.  Several  seams  of  coal. have  been  devel- 
oped in  this  part  of  the  ridge,  with  another  in  the  bed  of 
the  creek  below.  The  first  one,  near  the  top  of  the  ridge, 
is  about  one  loot  thick,  and  shows  good  coal.  The  second, 
about  eighty-three  feet  below,  is  about  two  feet  thick. 
Forty-five  feet  below,  and  173  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
valley,  a  three-foot  seam  occurs.  The  coal  from  this  seam 
shows  some  disturbance.  It  has  a  crumpled  appearance,  is 
highly  lustrous,  and  gives  out  bituminous  oil  freely  in  burn- 
ing. It  is  an  excellent  grate  coal,  and  blacksmiths  strongly 
recommend  it  for  the  fine  welding  heats  that  may  be  made 
Math  it.  The  seam  at  the  opening  dips  gently  to  the  north- 
east, but  soon  becomes  horizontal.  Overhead  in  the  mine 
is  a  sandy  shale,  and  the  floor  has  two  feet  of  fire-clay  rest- 
ing upon  -a  gray  shale.  The  seam  of  coal  worked  has  a 
gray  shale  above,  and  a  hard  sand  rock  filled  Avith  fossil 
weeds,  below. 

The  coal  in  Walden's  Ridge,  as  exposed  on  the  north 
side  of  the  main  branch  of  Rocky  creek,  is  2  feet  8  inches 
thick  at  the  outcrop.  This  seam  is  173  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  corresponds  to  the  seam  the 
first  above  the  new  opening  at  the  mines.     Black  shale  four 


36  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

feet  thick  lies  above,  which  makes  a  good  hard  roof.  A 
grayish  fire-clay  of  two  or  three  feet  thickness  lies  beneath 
the  coal.  Two  seams  are  known  to  exist  above  this,  but 
they  have  not  been  tested.     All  the  seams  are  horizontal. 

On  the  west  side  of  demons  creek,  the  southern  prong 
of  Rocky  creek,  there  is  a  seam  of  coal  3J  feet  thick.  This 
is  lower  than  the  one  opened  on  Rocky  creek  by  100  feet, 
and  may  be  a  different  seam  from  any  mentioned  or  occur- 
ring in  the  outlying  ridges. 

In  the  bed  of  Rocky  creek,  about  500  yards  above  the 
point  where  the  coal  has  been  mined,  there  is  a  seam  of 
varying  thickness,  from  one  to  six  feet,  exposed  on  a  level 
with  the  surface  of  the  water.  Lying  upon  the  coal  are 
five  feet  of  black  shale,  with  a  thick  bluff  of  sandstone 
above.  The  coal  lies  in  a  succession  of  ^Jockets  rather  than 
in  a  continuous  seam.  The  surface  of  the  sandstone  upon 
which  it  rests  is  filled  with  bowl-like  cavities  and  trenches, 
all  of  which  are  filled  with  coal.  The  coal  is  also  seen  per- 
meating the  sandstone  in  dendritic  veins. 

The  following  section  was  taken  by  the  aid  of  barometer 
on  the  north  side  of  Rocky  creek,  and  is  approximately  cor- 
rect.  Beginning  at  the  top  and  going  down  the  ridge  we  have : 

Surface  covered 85      feet. 

Sandstone 40        " 

Coal  (a) 1      foot. 

Shale 40      feet. 

Sandstone 35        " 

Black  shale 8         " 

Coal  (6) 1.10    " 

Fire-clay 8         " 

Sandy  shale 37        ." 

Coal(c) 2.6      " 

Fire-clay 2         " 

Gray  shale 35  to  40  feet. 

Coal  (d) 1  to    3  feet. 

Fire-clay 5     feet. 

Sandstone 40        " 

Gray  shale 8        " 

Coai(e) 4        " 

Hard  sandstone 70         " 

Shale lto6" 

Coal  in  pockets  (/) 1  to6" 

Sandstone  with  veins  of  coal. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railioay.  37 

The  section  given  aboye  is  rather  a  general  section  taken 
from  several  other  sections.  It  represents  about  an  average 
of  all  the  sections. 

Near  the  mine  is  a  village  of  about  500  inhabitants, 
mostly  Welch.  It  contains  a  school-house,  church,  store, 
post-office,  two  blacksmith  shops  and  a  carpenter  shop. 

The  ridges  between  Tennessee  river  and  the  mountain  at 
this  place  appear  to  have  been  swept  away  during  the  course 
of  ages  by  the  waters  of  E,ocky  and  Sale  creeks.  A  bottom 
covering  some  nine  square  miles  has  been  thus  formed.  Its 
surface  is  generally  rocky,  especially  near  the  base  of  the 
mountain;  so  much  so,  indeed,  near  the  mountain,  as  to 
render  it  unsuitable  for  tillage.  As  the  distance  from  the 
mountain  increases  the  surface  rocks  disappear,  until  a  very 
fair  farming  area  is  presented,  and  some  very  good  farms 
are  seen,  thongh  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  surface  has 
been  cleared.  During  the  summer  months  the  water  in 
Rocky  creek  becomes  very  low,  forming  a  succession  of 
deep  pools,  joined  together  like  necklaces  by  a  trickling 
stream.  The  bed  of  the  stream  is  exceedingly  rough  with 
water-worn  bowlders.  For  water  power.  Sale  creek  and  its 
tributaries  are  worthless. 

Large  ledges  of  limestone  occur  in  the  second  parallel 
ridge  from  the  mountain.  The  strata  are  all  inclined  to  the 
north-west.  The  quality  of  the  stone  for  making  lime  is 
good,  but  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  seams  and  fissures  it 
is  not  suitable  for  building  purposes. 

As  to  the  iron  ore  of  this  region  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  it  often  crops  out  in  two  or  three  seams  on  the  sides  of  the 
outlying  ridges,  but  in  the  valleys  it  is  not  met  with,  either 
because  it  lies  below  water  level  and  becomes  limestone,  or 
because  it  is  deeply  covered  by  the  overlying  strata.  Wher- 
ever it  has  been  sought  after,  especially  in  the  ridges,  it  has 
been  found,  though  not  always  of  such  a  quality  or  quantity 
as  to  justify  working.     The  Dyestone  strata  along  this  line 


38  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

of  road,  with  a  few  exceptions,  are  always  found  dipping 
at  a  high  angle  toward  Walden's  Ridge,  as  if  the  whole 
body  of  the  Cumberland  Table-land,  by  a  downthrow,  had 
bent  the  adjacent  strata,  making  each  cross  section  of  the 
mountain  and  the  first  ridge  like  a  sleigh-runner.  A  few 
deposits  of  brown  hematite  are  found  capping  the  hills,  but 
not  in  sufficient  abundance  to  justify  the  erection  of  fur- 
naces. 

Feom   Sale  Ceeek  Mines  to  Smith's  Ceoss   Roads. 

The  distance  from  Sale  Creek  Mines  to  Smith's  Cross 
Roads  is  nine  miles,  and  the  country  between  the  two  places 
presents  some  pleasing  topographical  features.  Passing 
over  Rocky  creek  going  north-east,  a  high,  bold,  well- 
wooded  ridge,  called  Black  Oak  ridge,  rises  on  the  east  and 
continues  in  a  line  north-east  without  a  gap  for  eight  miles, 
and  beyond  Smith's  Cross  Roads,  when  it  is  cut  in  two  by 
Richland  creek.  Sale  creek  comes  out  from  Walden's 
Ridge  two  miles  south  of  Smith's  Cross  Roads,  and  runs 
south-east  until  its  course  in  that  direction  is  checked  by 
Black  Oak  ridge.  It  then  turns  south-west,  and  flows  along 
the  base  of  that  ridge  until  it  unites  with  Rocky  creek  near 
Sale  Creek  Mines.  After  this  junction,  it  passes  eastward 
through  the  wide  gap  already  mentioned.  Between  the 
gorges  formed  in  the  mountain  by  Rocky  creek  and  Sale 
creek  is  one  made  by  McGill's  creek,  a  tributary  of  Sale 
creek,  and  forms  a  union  with  that  stream  a  short  distance 
from  the  base  of  the  mountain.  In  traveling  up  the  line 
of  railroad  the  gorge  it  makes  is  well  marked  in  the  side  of 
the  mountain,  but  the  stream  is  not  seen.  Up  this  gorge 
some  fine  seams  of  coal  are  met  with,  one  of  which  is  four 
feet  thick.  This  corresponds  probably  with  coal  (c)  in  the 
Rocky  creek  section.  At  least  I  judge  so,  from  its  eleva- 
tion above  the  valley.  This  shows  on  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain  for   a   distance  of  thirty  feet.     The   others,  of  which 


Cincinnati  Southern  Raihray.  39 

three  are  known  to  exist,  are  from  one  to  three  feet  thick 
at  the  outcrops.  This  coal  is  convenient  to  the  railroad, 
and  so  situated  that  tramways  can  be  built  from  the  rail- 
road to  the  interior  of  the  mountain  at  a  cost  not  exceeding 
$5,000  per  mile.  The  cost  of  opening  the  mines  would  be 
a  mere  trifle  in  comparison  to  the  coal  which  could  be 
reached.  The  seam  is  of  uniform  thickness  as  fur  as  it  has 
been  prospected,  and  the  tests  applied  to  the  coal  show  it 
to  be  of  excellent  quality  for  blacksmith  and  domestic  pur- 
poses. The  plateau  of  the  mountain  above  shows  a  well 
wooded  region,  and  a  soil  of  more  than  average  fertility  for 
mountain  lands.  There  is  an  immense  growth  of  timber, 
consisting  of  chestnut,  white  and  post  oak,  hickory,  poplar, 
ash,  and  occasionally  walnut.  For  colonization  purposes 
the  plateau  above  the  coal  would  have  a  great  value. 

Cove  creek  gorge,  just  above,  displays  the  same  seams, 
as  also  the  cut  made  by  Sale  creek,  but  they  are  not,  at  the 
outcrop,  so  thick  as  at  Rocky  creek. 

Some  excellent  farming  lands  are  seen  in  this  section. 
Wide-spreading,  level  meadows  and  rich  undulating  fields 
are  seen  on  both  sides  of  the  road.  The  St.  Ijouis  lime- 
stone, with  its  characteristic  sinkholes,  lies  on  the  road,  and 
supplies  a  strong,  fertile  soil.  The  timber  upon  this  soil  is 
very  valuable.  Large  poplars,  red  oaks  and  white  oaks  are 
abundant,  and  will  furnish  a  large  amount  of  first-class 
lumber.  In  some  of  the  bottoms  below  the  St.  Louis  lime- 
stone the  Nashville  and  Trenton  rock  appear. 

At  Suiith's  Cross  Roads  the  ridge  on  the  east  forms  a 
comparatively  level  plateau  nearly  two  miles  across,  and  the 
Tennessee  river  bottoms  lie  at  its  eastern  base.  The  numer- 
ous river  ridges  below  appear  to  have  united  to  form  one 
wide  one  at  this  place.  The  soil  of  this  ridge  is  flinty,  but 
productive.  It  is  said  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of 
fruit.  The  surface  immediately  around  Smith's  Cross  Roads 
is  very  level   and   beautiful.     It   is,  indeed,  a   deeply-sunk 


40  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

basin,  with  high  ridges  and  sharp  hills  bounding  it  on  every 
side.  On  the  west  is  Shin  Bone  Ridge,  a  flinty  elevation 
from  200  to  300  feet  above  the  valley  that  keeps  its  course 
parallel  vvith  the  mountain.  Between  Shin  Bone  Ridge 
and  the  escarpment  of  Walden's  Ridge  is  I^one  Mountain, 
an  isolated  peak  about  two  miles  long  at  the  base  and  one 
mile  wide.  It  rises  to  the  height  of  780  feet  above  the 
valley,  and  reaches  its  highest  elevation  toward  its  northern 
end.  Its  southern  extremity  slopes  gently  down  to  Sale 
creek.  A  low,  long  spur,  a  ligament  from  its  northern  end, 
connects  it  with  Walden's  Ridge  on  the  west.  This  spur 
or  ligament  forms  the  northern  boundary  of  Cransmore's 
cove.  Lone  Mountain  and  a  small  Ridge  hemming  it  on  the 
east,  and  Sale  creek  and  Walden's  Ridge  on  the  west.  It 
is  accessible  only  by  going  up  Sale  creek.  This  cove  is 
from  three  to  four  miles  long,  and  from  three-fourths  to  one 
mile  wide.  The  soil  is  good  and  the  surface  level,  forming 
a  fine  agricultural  area. 

At  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  Lone  Mountain,  Rich- 
land creek,  a  mountain  torrent,  breaks  from  AValden's 
Ridge,  passing  out  in  a  south-eastern  direction.  Entering 
the  gap  made  by  this  stream  we  find  the  strata  of  sandstone 
on  the  right  going  up  dipping  toward  the  mountain  at  an 
average  angle  of  thirty  degrees,  but  half  a  mile  fartlier  up 
they  become  horizontal. 

At  this  point  Walden's  Ridge  attains  an  elevation  of  over 
1,000  feet  above  the  valley.  On  the  opposite  side  of  Rich- 
land creek  its  height  is  not  so  great  by  150  feet.  On  the 
left  bank  of  the  creek,  and  right  going  uj),  seams  of  coal 
have  been  opened,  the  thickest  of  which  is  3  feet  10  inches, 
but  swells  out  to  6  feet  8  inches.  This  is  one  mile  above 
the  mouth  of  the  gorge,  and  is  the  lowest  seam,  but  the 
second  seam  shows  about  three  feet  of  good  coal,  which 
may  become  thicker.  This  is  tlie  Rock  wood  seam.  The 
fifth  at  this  place   has  also  been  opened,  and  displays  21 


Clneinnati  Southern  Railway.  41 

inches  of  coal.  The  conglomerate  appears  here  near  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  80  or  100  feet  thick.  Large  blocks 
have  tumbled  down  from  above  into  the  bed  of  Richland 
creek,  greatly  impeding  the  tiow  of  the  stream. 

From  the  opening  of  the  lower  seam  a  tram  road  has 
been  surveyed  out  to  the  valley,  and  a  part  of  it  graded, 
and  some  culverts  made. 

The  character  of  the  coal  is  variable.  That  taken  from  the 
second  seam  is  spumous,  fragile  and  shelly,  and  ihuch  re- 
sembles the  Sewanee  coal.  It  is  very  pure,  and  is  doubt- 
less a  good  coking  coal.  The  entry  in  this  seam  has  been 
driven  in  200  yards,  and  shows  a  seam  varying  greatly  in 
thickness,  swelling  out  to  several  feet  or  more,  and  then 
squeezing  down  to  fifteen  inches.  A  dump  platform  has 
been  constructed  at  the  mouth  of  the  entry.  The  tramway, 
as  surveyed,  is  140  feet  below.  The  seam  below  this  has 
been  worked  to  a  limited  extent.  An  entry  has  been  made 
into  it  thirty  yards,  and  the  coal  taken  therefrom  was  used 
in  an  old  forge  which  was  in  operation  before  the  war. 

The  slopes  of  Walden's  Ridge  are  heavily  timbered  with 
chestnut  oak,  hickory,  black  oak  and  white  oak.  The  sides 
of  the  mountain  being  very  steep,  wood  can  be  brought  by 
chutes  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  to  the  valley  below. 

One  mile  above,  from  the  mouth  of  Richland  creek 
gorge,  several  tributary  streams  enter  Richland  creek,  swell- 
ing its  volume  and  increasing  its  value.  Each  one  of  these 
streams  have  made  cross  ravines  in  the  gulf  of  Richland 
creek,  laying  bare  the  coal  beds.  It  would  be  no  difficult 
task  to  construct  railroad  lines  up  each  of  these  cross  ra- 
vines, and  so  multiply  the  coal  product  indefinitely. 

On  Morgan's  turnpike,  just  as  the  road  begins  to  ascend 
the  mountain,  is  a  large  curled  mass  of  coal.  It  is  very 
much  crushed,  and  doubtless  rolled  down  from  above.  It 
burns  well,  but  the  quantity  is  uncertain.  Two  or  three 
seams  are  seen  in  ascending  the  mountain  by  this  road. 


42  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

I  have  spoken  of  Cransraore's  cove.  Near  the  head  of 
this,  bat  on  the  western  side,  a  coal  bed  showing  a  thickness 
of  thirty  inches  has  been  opened  and  worked  for  local  pur- 
poses. The  coal  is  lustrous  and  beautiful,  and  is  said  to 
burn  freely.  This  seam,  as  measured  by  the  barometer,  is 
33  feet  lower  than  the  second  mentioned  as  occurring  on 
Richland  creek.  The  coal  at  this  place  would  be  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  work  from  the  present  entry,  as  the 
strata  all  dij)  back  into  the  mountain  as  much  as  three 
inches  to  the  yard.  Bluish,  sandy  and  buif-colored  shales 
20  feet  thick  overlie  the  coal  with  a  floor  of  hard  black 
shale  three  feet  thick,  which  rests  upon  a  great  thickness  of 
sandstone. 

From  the  head  of  Cransmore  cove  a  stream  of  water 
plunges  over  a  precipice  75  feet  high.  The  thickness  of 
the  sandstone  forming  the  bluff  at  this  point  is  100  feet  or 
more.  The  view  from  the  head  of  the  cove  is  extensive, 
varied,  and  beautiful. 

Passing  now  to  a  consideration  of  the  beds  of  iron  ore 
in  the  region  around  Smith's  Cross  Roads,  we  find  both  the 
fossil  ores  and  the  brown  hematite  in  considerable  abund- 
ance. Directly  east  of  the  point  whei-e  Richland  creek 
leaves  the  mountain,  the  dyestone  ore  is  found  in  Shin  Bone 
ridge  outcropping  on  its  western  slope,  and  dipping  as  usual 
to  the  north-west.  The  ridge  containing  it  is  low  as  com- 
pared with  the  Dyestone  ridges  at  other  places.  There  is 
also  an  absence  of  the  white  oak  mountain  sandstone  which, 
wherever  it  prevails,  is  mountain-making  in  its  character. 
The  fossil  ore,  as  it  occurs  in  this  locality,  is  interstratified 
with  beds  of  grayish  slate.  The  first  point  examined  had 
a  thickness  of  only  nine  inches,  which  was  well  exposed  by 
a  drift  which  had  been  run  into  the  hill  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
yards.  The  seam  shows  great  contortions  and  numerous 
plications  rising  up  in  short  folds,  wrinkled  like  the  folds 
of  a  great  curtain,  having  a  general  dip,  however,  of  about 


Oincinnati  Southein  Rahcay.  43 

70  degrees.  The  line  of  strike  runs  about  north  20  degrees, 
east  about  parallel  with  the  general  course  of  Walden's 
Ridge. 

A  ditch  a  hundred  yards  further  north  has  been  dug  on 
the  face  of  the  hill  across  the  line  of  strike,  which  reveals 
six  or  more  thin  seams  of  fossil  ore,  with  grayish  shale  be- 
tween. All  the  seams  occur  within  the  distance  of  37  feet 
measured  on  the  slope  of  tlie  hill.  The  following  section, 
measured  perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  the  strata,  will 
give  a  correct  idea  of  the  ore  as  it  occurs  at  this  place. 
Beginning  with  the  lowest,  but  highest  on  the  hill,  we  have :; 

Ore 3  inches. 

Gray  shale 4  feet. 

Ore 4  inches. 

Shale , 12  inches. 

Ore 3  inches. 

Shale 11  inches. 

Ore 6  inches. 

Shale 10  feet. 

Ore 6  inches. 

Shale 8  feet. 

Ore 7  inches. 

Shale  of  great  thickness. 

This  lead  of  ore  is  traceable  by  its  outcrop  for  three  miles 
up  the  valley.  It  is  very  hard,  and  contains  a  sensible 
quantity  of  calcite  and  siliceous  material.  It  has  a  dull, 
dead  color,  with  adhering  siliceous  scales,  and  but  few  per- 
ceptible fossils,  these  being  confined  to  a  few  criuoidal  but- 
tons. 

Upon  the  Morgan  turnpike  a  curled  mass  of  coal  has 
been  mentioned.  Just  below  this,  about  100  yards,  is  a 
bed  of  blue  siliceous  shale,  which  makes  excellent  whet- 
stones. Half  way  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  a  bed  of 
brown  hematite  occurs.  About  fifteen  or  twenty  tons  have 
been  taken  out.     It  occurs  regularly  stratified.     It  is  of  a 


44  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

poor  quality,  being  very  siliceous.     I  do  not  think  the  de- 
posit of  any  great  value. 

Xear  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  lying  on  both  sides 
of  the  road,  a  white  sandstone  is  found,  from  which  grind- 
stones of  good  grit  have  been  manufactured.  It  is  soft, 
and  wears  easily. 

Lere  Mountain  has  been  spoken  of.  It  is  a  high  sand- 
stone ridge,  covered,  for  the  most  part,  with  a  heavy  growth 
of  black  oak,  pine  and  chestnut  oak.  From  its  eastern  side 
it  is  cut  by  two  gorges,  nearly  severing  the  mountain  into 
three  parts.  In  the  most  southern  of  these  gorges  is  a  con- 
siderable deposit  of  brown  hematite  of  good  quality.  It 
covers  the  surface  of  the  ground  on  the  side  of  the  gorge 
for  several  hundred  feet,  and  in  a  tongue  of  land  that  lies 
in  the  bottom  of  the  ravine  it  sticks  out  in  blocks  weighing 
several  tons.  From  the  tests  given  it  is  of  first  rate  qual- 
ity, yielding  about  fifty  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron.  It  oc- 
curs in  compact  masses.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  ex- 
tensive the  deposit  is,  or  whether  it  will  afford  a  sufficient 
amount  to  justify  the  erection  of  a  furnace  without  more 
extensive  prospecting.  Its  position  is  easily  reached,  and 
it  can  be  carried  down  a  gentle  slope  to  the  railroad,  a  mile 
distant.  Brown  hematite  is  also  found  in  portions  of  Shin 
Bone  ridge,  near  its  crest,  as  also  in  many  other  ridges  and 
hills  in  the  neighborhood. 

In  the  valley  d  bog  ore  is  found  underlying  the  meadows 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  interfere  with  the  proper  cultivation 
of  the  soil.     It  is  at  places  several  feet  thick. 

An  English  company  has  bought  40,000  acres  of  mineral 
and  agricultural  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  this  place.  This 
company  has  made  1,700,000  bricks,  with  which  to  erect 
two  furnaces  at  or  near  Smith's  Cross  Roads,  and  one  roll- 
ing mill.  The  progress  of  this  enterprise  has  been  impeded 
by  the  depression  of  the  iron  interests. 

Smith's  Cross  Roads  is  a  small  village  in  Rhea  county. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  45 

of  100  inhabitants,  and  contains  one  academy,  three  stores, 
one  bhicksmith  shop,  one  hoot  and  shoe  shop,  one  wagon 
making  and  one  saddler's  shop. 

From  Smith's  Cross  Roads  to  Rhea  Springs. 

The  Tennessee  Valley  narrows  just  above  Smith's  Cross 
Roads,  but  widens  out  into  a  beautiful  expanse  a  mile  or 
two  above.  The  surface  at  intervals  swells  into  gentle  hills, 
with  wide  fertile  lowlands  between.  Little  Richland  creek, 
a  confluent  of  Big  Richland,  rises  nine  miles  north  of 
Smith's  Cross  Roads,  and  by  many  a  convolution  winds  be- 
side the  fertile  pastures,  and  adds  beauty  and  attractiveness 
to  the  pastoral  scene.  It  gathers  in  its  course,  from  numer- 
ous springs,  water  enough  to  drive  grist  mills.  Better 
farms  and  better  farm  houses  appear  in  this  section  than  in 
those  heretofore  spoken  of.  An  air  of  thrift  is  everywhere 
seen,  and  the  farms  are  well  stocked  with  every  thing  neces- 
sary to  insure  success  in  their  calling. 

Shin  Bone  ridge  skirts  the  mountain  with  a  few  low  gaps, 
which  give  access  to  Back  Valley.  It  is  more  subdued 
here  than  below,  and  some  of  its  slopes  have  been  brought 
into  cultivation.  Back  Valley,  lying  between  this  and  the 
mountain,  is  very  narrow  and  trough-like. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  Tennessee  Valley,  Valley 
ridge,  a  continuation  of  Black  Oak  ridge,  sinks  to  a  lower 
level,  and  is  flattened  out.  The  soil  is  flinty  and  unpro- 
ductive, and  the  timber  upon  it  is  not  so  heavy  as  below 
Smith's  Cross  Roads,  though  there  are  some  farms  upon  it. 
It  is  excellent  for  fruits  and  wheat.  Corn  yields  only  about 
ten  or  fifteen  bushels  per  acre.  Three  miles  above  Smith's 
Cross  Roads,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain,  a  good 
bank  of  coal  has  been  opened  and  worked  for  local  pur- 
poses. It  is  known  as  Stewart's  bank.  The  seam  is  three 
feet  thick,  and  the  coal  is  of  excellent  quality.  In  Read's 
gulf,  four  miles  higher  up,  two  good  seams  of  coal  lie  ex- 


46  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

posed.     Brown  hematite  is  found  along  the  slopes  of  Valley 
ridge,  but  not  in  any  great  quantity. 

In  this  part  of  Tennessee  Valley  the  crops  yield,  in  good 
seasons,  about  as  follows: 

Hay,  from  herds  grass  mainly 1  to  1|  tons  per  acre. 

Corn 30  to  35  bushels  per  acre. 

Wheat 10 

Oats 2oto30      " 

Sorghum 100  gallons  " 

With  careful  preparation  of  the  soil,  as  much  as  forty 
bushels  of  wheat  have  been  grown  per  acre.  This  is  done 
upon  clover  sod.  For  the  growth  of  clover  the  lands  of 
the  valley  are  well  suited,  having  a  large  proportion  of  clay 
and  carbonate  of  lime  in  their  composition.  Tobacco  also 
grows  well  upon  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  and  sometimes 
makes  an  average  return  of  800  pounds  per  acre.  Much 
of  the  soil  of  this  section  could  be  made  profitable  by  grow- 
ing this  staple.  A  fine  silky  article  can  be  made  here  which 
would  bring  a  high  price  from  the  manufacturer. 

The  rearing  of  stock  is  not  carried  on  so  extensively  as 
might  be  in  this  section.  The  mountain  lands  would  fur- 
nish a  large  amount  of  highway  pasturage,  while  winter 
supplies  could  be  grown  cheaply  in  the  valley.  Those  who 
have  engaged  in  this  branch  of  husbandry  find  it  very  profit- 
able for  the  time  and  labor  ex])ended. 

Sedge  grass  is  very  troublesome  in  the  valleys,  and  de- 
stroys meadows  in  a  few  years.  Its  extirpation  would  add 
greatly  to  the  value  of  the  lands.  The  soil  of  th^  valley, 
as  before  stated,  is,  principally,  a  calcareous  loam,  but 
there  are  strips  lying  on  the  borders  of  Little  Richland 
which  are  water-soaked.  The  land  has  a  whitish  color,  and 
while  it  grows  herds  grass  luxuriantly,  is  not  well  suited 
for  the  production  of  other  crops.  The  average  width  of 
the  bottom  is  three-fourths  of  a  mile.  The  timber,  though 
not  so  large  or  abundant  as  in  the  section  embraced  between 


CinQinnati  Southern  Railway.  47 

Sale  Creek  Mines  and  Smith's  Cross  Roads,  is  essentially 
of  the  same  kinds.  Poplar,  oak  and  pine  predominate. 
Lumber  sells  for  $12.50  per  thousand,  except  walnut,  which 
is  worth  $30  per  thousand,  and  scarce. 

This  region  is  well  watered  by  springs  which  break  out 
from  Valley  ridge  and  from  the  mountain.  Limestone, 
freestone  and  chalybeate  waters  are  often  found  within  a 
short  distance  of  each  other. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  mountain  lying  on  the  west 
of  the  railroad  in  this  section  is  settling  up  rapidly  by  per- 
.sons  who  propose  to  make  fruit-raising  a  specialty.  Grapes, 
peaches,  plums  and  apples  are  all  said  to  do  well,  and  a 
large  planting  has  been  made  of  these  during  the  past  two 
years.  As  soon  as  the  building  of  the  railroad  became  an 
assured  fact,  the  planting  of  orchards  began,  and  I  was  as- 
sured that  thou,bands  of  acres  would  be  in  bearing  in  a  few 
years  on  this  section,  and  within  four  miles  of  the  railroad. 
A  large  amount  of  land  will  also  be  devoted  to  the  growing 
of  onions  and  Irish  potatoes.  Wild  grapes  grow  profusely 
upon  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  ripen  in  such  abundance 
as  to  make  them  an  article  of  traffic.  The  farming  lauds  of 
the  valley  are  worth  from  twenty  to  forty  dollars  per  acre; 
on  the  valley  ridges,  from  three  to  ten;  on  the  mountain, 
from  one  to  five;  the  first  figures  in  each  case  representing 
unimproved  lands,  and  the  second  improved.  The  farmers 
in  the  valley  usually  have  their  timber  supplies  on  the 
ridges. 

Labor  is  said  to  be  abundant,  but  of  poor  quality,  and 
not  trustworthy.  In  the  valley  from  ten  to  twelve  dollars 
per  month  and  board  are  paid.  Schools  have  been  sadly 
neglected.  In  many  localities  of  this  section  there  are  no 
schools  of  any  sort.  From  Little  Richland  Station  (No.  213) 
up  to  Clear  creek  the  valley  is  much  like  that  below,  only 
not  so  wide.  Clear  creek  breaks  out  from  Walden's  Ridge 
about  forty-seven  miles  above  Chattanooga.     It  supplies 


48  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

some  tolerably  good  water  powers.  In  the  chasm  formetT 
by  this  stream  four  good  seams  of  coal  may  be  seen,  the 
thickest  of  which  is  said  to  be  six  feet,  but  I  did  not  see  it. 
Above  Clear  creek,  and  between  it  and  Piney,  which  is 
three  miles  above,  the  spurs  from  Shin  Bone  ridge  shoot 
out  into  the  valley,  forming  a  succession  of  swelling  tongues, 
with  gentle  slopes.  Much  of  the  farming  lands  here  have 
been  badly  worn.  Red  hills  and  gullies  disfigure  the  farms. 
The  mountain  escarpment  between  the  two  last  named 
streams  is  about  500  feet  high,  but  back  a  mile  or  more  it 
rises  800  feet  higher,  forming  a  beautiful  table-land  upon 
the  higher  plane. 

On  Piney  four  seams  of  coal  are  also  seen,  and  judging 
from  their  respective  elevations,  I  take  them  to  be  identical 
with  those  at  Clear  creek,  thus  forming  between  the  two 
streams  a  splendid  coal  field,  which  could  be  worked  on 
three  sides.  The  thickness  of  the  upper  seam  is  four  feet 
of  good  block  coal.  Two  hundred  feet  below  is  a  seam 
three  feet  thick,  corresponding  with  the  Rock  wood  seam. 
The  coal  in  this  is  soft  and  easily  crushed.  The  Valley 
ridge  opposite  this  coal  area  flattens  down  into  a  broad  flat 
plain,  which  extends  eastward  seven  miles  to  the  Tennessee 
river.  Through  this  plateau  land  Piney  flows  on  its  way 
to  the  Tennessee  river.  Spurs  run  from  the  north  and 
south,  and  cramp  in  the  plateau  at  a  few  places  to  less  than 
half  a  mile;  at  other  places  the  distance  between  the  heads 
of  the  spurs  is  from  three  to  four  miles. 

Rhea  Springs. 

These  springs  are  situated  about  the  centre  of  this  flat- 
tened area,  near  the  banks  of  Piney.  For  many  years 
these  springs  have  been  a  fav^orite  resort  during  the  sum- 
mer months.  The  water  is  alkaline,  though  called  sulphur, 
the  principal  ingredients  being  sulphate  of  lime,  sulphate 


^■ixvr 


^=K 


.    M2.NERAL  DISTRICT  ■ 


< "  ISKt  S  OVT'K  ItWl' 


,         3^1    (     1  ION      III 
J         NiJBTHWARD. 


^a   \ 


Ix      ^     ^^ 


o 


\r 


■K^    •^^•-,// 


>1  A  l"  _ 

MINERAL    DISTRICT 
^ ' " ""^►"'<' » ■ "  '  T^ix.  s,  ()  I'  r  n'x  KVTY 


r 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  49 

of  magnesia,  sulphate  of  soda,  silicate  of  soda,  with  a  little 
salt.  The  water  is  said  to  have  a  healthy  effect  upon  the 
stomach  and  bowels.  It  is  shipped  to  nearly  every  State 
in  the  Union.  A  small  village  has  sprung  up  at  the 
springs,  and  presents  quite  a  neat  and  tasteful  appearance. 
Beautiful  shade  trees  embower  every  cottage,  and  the  green 
grass  covers  the  surlace  of  the  ground,  giving  a  pleasing 
and  attractive  appearance  to  tbe  surroundings.  Piney, 
which  flows  through  the  village,  is  bountifully  supplied 
with  fish,  the  principal  species  being  the  black  bass, 
red  horse,  perch,  drum,  cat  fish,  buffalo,  jack,  and  river 
salmon.  On  the  mountains  and  ridges  game  is  abundant. 
Deer,  wild  turkeys,  squirrels,  hares  and  partridges  are  nu- 
merous.    Occasionally  a  bear  or  wild  cat  is  met  with. 

The  population  of  Rhea  Springs  is  about  400.  There 
are  in  the  place  four  stores,  one  drug  store,  two  blacksmith 
shops,  one  wagon  shop,  three  boot  and  shoe  establishments, 
two  harness  shops,  one  tin  shop,  one  flouring  mill,  one  pho- 
tograph gallery,  one  cabinet-maker's  shop,  three  churches, 
one  livery  stable,  one  masonic  lodge,  and  one  hotel  capable 
of  accommodating  125  persons. 

« 
From  Rhea  Sprinc4S  to  Rockwood. 

The  few  short,  broken  ridges  north  of  Rhea  Springs  soon 
give  way  to  an  undulating  valley  which  spreads  out  quite  a 
half  mile  wide.  This  valley  lies  east  of  the  Tennessee  Val- 
ley, along  which  the  railroad  passes,  with  one  intervening 
ridge.  Another  ridge  lies  between  this  valley  and  the 
Tennessee  river.  Passing  from  Rhea  Springs  in  a  north- 
westerly direction,  across  a  low  ridge  to  the  railroad,  or 
Tennessee  Valley,  we  find  some  excellent  farming  lands, 
the  valley  being  very  wide  and  j^roductive.  Shin  Bone 
Ridge  here  runs  very  near  the  mountain.  At  a  point  about 
nine  miles  below  Rockwood  this  ridge  has  a  wide  gap,  and 
4 


50  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

sandstone  ledges  are  found  in  the  Tennessee  Valley,  a  very- 
rare  occurrence.  In  these  sandstone  ledges  masses  of 
crushed  coal  are  met  with.  This  coal  occurs  on  the  farm 
of  David  Roddy.  The  valley  narrows  near  White's  creek. 
This  stream  has  a  confined  valley,  and  like  the  others, 
makes  a  deep  cut  in  the  mountain.  Its  point  of  exit  from 
the  mountain  is  six  miles  below  Rockwood.  North  of  this 
stream  the  valley  is  almgst  shut  out  by  the  approaching 
ridges,  leaving  only  an  elevated  trough  through  which  the 
railroad  passes.  From  White's  creek  to  Rockwood  the 
ridges  run  in  and  nearly  fill  up  the  valley.  Sometimes  the 
valley  is  made  up  of  a  few  level  areas  lying  between  the 
broken  ridges.  These  little  valleys  take  every  form,  the 
spurs  coming  down  from  every  direction  like  the  points  of 
a  star.  Clumps  of  dark,  thick  forests  are  scattered  at  in- 
tervals, with  small  patches,  of  cleared  land.  Turnpike 
creek,  wdiich  rises  above  Rockwood,  winds  its  course  around 
the  numerous  spurs  and  along  fruitful  basins.  West  of  this 
stream  the  dyestone  ore  appears,  dipping  toward  the  moun- 
tain in  a  continuous  seam,  nowhere  broken.  The  cherty 
ridges  of  the  Knox  group  appear  on  the  east,  and  the  black 
shale  and  mountain  limestone  on  the  west.  Near  the  mouth 
of  White's  creek  two  forges  are  in  operation  which  make 
each,  when  in  blast,  about  200  pounds  of  bar  iron  per  day. 
The  ore  is  the  dyestone  obtained  from  the  face  of  the  ridge 
near  the  mountain.  One  ton  of  ore  makes  700  pounds  of 
bar  iron.  One  hundred  bushels  of  charcoal  make  200 
pounds  of  iron.  The  hammerer  and  tender  are  paid  20 
per  cent,  of  the  iron  made. 

The  coal  up  White's  creek  is  abundant.  On  a  little 
stream,  Piney  by  name,  that  enters  White's  creek  from  the 
north,  is  an  outcrop  exposed  by  erosion  of  the  water,  which 
is  four  feet  thick.  The  coal  appears  in  the  main  mountain 
mass,  and  is  probably  the  same  as  the  Rockwood  seam. 
Two  other  seams  are  found  in  White's  creek  gap,  one  of 


Oincinnati  Southern  Raihoay,  •  51 

Avhich  is  three  feet  four  inches  thick,  ami  the  second  about 
three  feet.  The  last  is  the  lowest.  The  coal  from  this  is 
soft  and  spongy.  The  coal  from  the  other  two  mentioned 
appears  to  be  good.  That  on  Piney  is  a  close,  compact, 
block  coal,  and  said  to  be  the  best  welding  coal  that  has 
been  found  on  the  mountain. 

Rock  WOOD. 

As  an  industrial  enterprise,  no  place  in  the  State  deserves 
more  notice  than  Rockwood.  It  is  situated  in  Roane  county, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Cumberland  Mountain,  four  miles  from 
the  Tennessee  river,  and  seventy-two  miles  above  Chatta- 
nooga. It  has  a  population  of  1200.  Ten  years  ago  the 
place  where  this  village  now  stands  was  a  wilderness.  By 
the  persistent  energy  of  General  J.  T.  Wilder,  AV.  P.  Rath- 
burn  and  others,  a  company  with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000 
was  formed,  and  two  blast  furnaces  erected,  designated  as 
Rockwood  No.  1  and  Rockwood  No.  2.  No.  1  is  42  feet 
high,  closed  top,  with  bell  and  hopper,  hot  blast,  3  tuyers  of 
4J  inches  each;  capacity  per  day,  25  tons.  No.  2  is  65 
feet  high,  closed  top,  bosh  IC  feet,  hot  blast,  4  tuyers;  ca- 
])acity,  40  tons  per  day.  Boilers  are  heated  by  gas  brought 
xlown  from  top  of  furnace  by  a  downcomer,  made  of  3-16  iron 
))late,  and  lined  with  fire  brick.  There  are  two  engines, 
which  are  run  alternately  a  week  at  a  time.  No.  1  engine 
has  an  air  cylinder  6  feet  in  diameter,  with  4  feet  stroke. 
No  2  has  a  cylinder  7  feet  in  diameter,  with  4  feet  stroke. 
No.  1.  makes  22  revolutions,  and  No.  2  18  revolutions  per 
minute.  Rockwood  No.  1  was  in  blast  at  the  time  of  my 
visit  in  October.  The  charges  were  as  follows,  thirty  being 
4nade  in  24  hours: 

Coal 580  lbs. 

Coke 2,040    " 

Limestone 660    " 

Ore,  from  Company's  lands 1,550    " 

Ore,  from  Kindricks,  across  Tennessee  River 1,550    " 


52  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

"With  these  charges  an  average  of  18|  tons  of  pig  iron.> 
were  made  daily.  The  ore  used  is  the  fossil  red  hematite 
or  dyestone,  one-half  of  which  is  obtained  from  thfr 
Company's  land,  and  the  other  half  from  near  the  head  of 
Half  Moon  Island,  across  the  river  nine  miles  south  of 
Kockwood.  This  ore  is  mined  and  put  on  the  Company's 
cars  at  Rockwood  landing,  four  miles  from  the  furnace,  at 
$2  per  ton.  The  ore  goes  raw  in  the  furnace  without  any 
previous  calcination.  The  amount  of  iron  made  at  Rock- 
wood  from  September  1,  1875,  to  August  31,  1876,  is  as- 
follows : 

September,  1875 484  tons. 

October,  "     530    " 

November,  "     650    " 

December,  "     546.]  " 

January,  1876 507     " 

February,  "     516     " 

March,  "     565^" 

April,  "     550    " 

May,  "     533    " 

June,  "     528J  " 

July,  "     468    " 

August,  "     511     " 

The  iron  is  classed  mostly  mill  No.  2,  though  foundry  is 
made  when  required.  The  whole  product  is  consumed  by 
the  rolling  mill  at  Chattanooga,  belonging  to  the  same 
company. 

The  coal  mines  at  Rockwood  furnish  an  interesting  study. 
The  strata  are  greatly  disturbed,  and  the  coal  is  found  rolled 
up  in  great  masses,  often  from  forty  to  one  hundred  feet 
thick.  The  point  of  attack  is  in  the  gorge  cut  by  Turnpike 
creek.  The  surface  of  the  mountain  at  this  point  shows  a 
gentle  sag,  while  the  seam  of  coal  dips  in  opposite  directions 
to  the  contour  of  the  surface. 

The  axis  of  the  anticlinal  runs  about  north  20  degrees 
east.  Three  main  entries  or  levels  have  been  driven  into 
the  coal  seam  at  this  place,  designated  as  Nos.  1,  2  &  3. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Raihray. 


53 


No.  1,  which  is  the  lowest,  and  last  one  made,  enters  by  a 
cross  cut  through  the  underlying  sandstone  for  oOO  feet  be- 
fore the  coal  seam  is  met  with.  Here  it  is  two  feet  thick. 
One  foot  of  fire  clay  underlies  it,  and  just  above  is  an  incli 
of  soft,  putty-like  clay,  which  continues  even  where  thi; 
coal  is  pinched  out,  and  serves  as  a  guide  in  running  drifts 
Avhere  there  is  no  coal.  The  persistency  of  this  soft  clay  is 
remarkable,  and  is  peculiar,  as  far  as  my  observations  ex- 
tend, to  the  coal  at  Rockwood.  Above  this  clay  is  a  very 
hard,  black,  calcareous  shale.  The  coal  seam  hore  shows  a 
dip  upward  of  32  degrees.  The  entry  is  made  through  a 
very  hard  sandstone,  upon  which  common  blasting  powder 
has  but  little  effect.  It  was  found  necessary  to  use  dyna- 
mite. 


TH  OF  NO.I  ENTRY 


Section  at  Kockwood. 

The  coal  from  this  entry  is  very  hard,  closely  resembling 
an  anthracite  in  appearance.  It  also  appears  to  be  freer 
from  shale  than  that  taken  from  the  other  levels.  The 
seam  worked  upward  has  increased  to  six  feet. 

Level  No.  2  (called  New  Bank),  is  150  feet  above  the 
last.  At  this  the  strata  was  followed  down  200  feet,  with 
only  two  degrees  variation.  This  second  entry  is  nearly  a 
mile  in  length,  and  runs  around  on  two  sides  of  a  synclinal 
fold,  forming  a  basin,  or  spoon-like  depression  between  the 
two  sides  of  the  entry,  which  lies  several  hundred  feet  be- 
low. The  axis  of  this  synclinal,  like  that  of  the  anticlinal 
referred  to,  runs  north  20  degrees  east.  A  better  idea  (lan  be 
obtained  of  this  entry  by  an  inspection  of  the  diagram  be- 
low.    The  arrows  show  the  dip  of  the  coal. 


54 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


Underground  Plan  of  the  Roane  Iron  Company's  Coal  Mines,  Eockwoodj 
Eoane  county,  Tennessee. 

The  seam  of  coal,  as  developed  by  the  working  in  this 
entry,  is  very  wavy  and  irregular,  exhibiting  numerous 
jtlications  or  folds.  Sometimes  within  a  few  hundred  yards 
the  thickness  of  the  coal  may  vary  twenty  feet.  Great 
rolls  occur  like  huge  waves,  which  may  thin  down  to  a 
mere  wafer.  .The  lamination  shows  great  disturbance,  ap- 
pearing sometimes  in  a  succession  of  wrinkles,  again  in 
concentric,  shelly  masses.  The  coal  is  not  homogeneous.- 
Some  of  it  is  very  hard,  other  specimens  are  soft,  and  crum- 
ble to  the  touch.  Lenticular  particles  of  shale  are  often, 
found  penetrating  the  mass  as  though  it  had  been  ground 
up  and  mingled  with  the  coal.  At  other  places  the  shale 
is  absent  and  the  coal  very  pure.  When  the  roof  is  shelly 
and  tender,  and  filled  with  seams,  more  or  less  shale  is 
found  intermixed  with  the  coal.  Usually  the  roof  of  this 
entry  is  comjmseU  of  a  hard,  dark-colored  calcareous  shale,. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  55 

wliieh  crumbles  by  exposure.  As  this  entry  has  been 
driven  in  nearly  on  a  Avater-level,  the  roof,  by  reason  of  the 
<lij)  of  the  strata,  is  inclined  overhead  like  the  roof  of  a  shed. 

A  third  level  or  entry,  from  which  a  large  amount  of 
coal  has  been  taken,  is  still  higher  up  the  mountain.  The 
coal  in  this  sometimes  attains,  by  reason  of  the  folds,  an 
extraordinary  thickness.  At  one  place  the  thickness,  meas- 
ured perjiendicular  to  the  plane  of  the  horizon,  is  110  feet. 
Tliis  occurs  near  the  outcrop  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  above 
the  mouth  of  the  entry. 

A  new  drift  is  being  made  with  the  strata,  to  connect  the 
second  level  with  the  third.  By  this  the  coal  can  be 
brought  down  so  as  to  save  quite  half  a  mile  of  tram-road 
on  the  outside,  and  by  which  the  coal  can*  be  taken  out 
more  economically.  A  new  tramway  has  been  constructed 
leading  from  the  mouth  of  level  No.  1  to  a  point  just  above 
the  coke  ovens.  The  coal  here  is  received  into  a  double 
chute,  the  lump  coal  above  and  fine  coal  below.  The  coal 
will  be  shot  into  cars  instead  of  carts,  as  heretofore,  and  a 
track  laid  over  the  ovens  will  permit  the  introduction  of 
larger  quantities  of  coal  into  them  at  once — two  car  loads 
making  an  ovenfull,  in  place  of  eight  cart  loads  as  hereto- 
fore. Only  one  seam  of  importance  has  been  found  at  this 
l)lace.  Some  smaller  ones  appear,  but  they  have  never  been 
tested  sufficiently  to  form  a  correct  idea  as  to  their  value. 
If  it  be  true,  as  is  supposed,  that  the  Rock  wood  seam  is 
the  equivalent  of  the  Sewanee,  and  of  No.  6  at  the  Emory 
mines  higher  up,  there  ought  to  be  several  valuable  seams 
below,  which  can  only  be  ascertained  by  deep  boring.  The 
unusual  disturbance  everywhere  visible  in  the  strata  at 
Rockwood,  may  have  thrown  the  lower  seams  below  the 
level  of  the  valley.  According  to  the  section  taken  by 
Prof  Bradley  at  Emory  mines,  the  next  lower  seam  should 
be  at  least  2"20  feet  below  the  main  Rockwood,  excluding, 
of  course,  the  small  seam  seen  near  the  mouth  of  level  Xo. 


•56  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

1.  Tbi~  small  seam  doubtless  is  the  same  which  appears 
in  the  Sewanee  section,  as  lying  42  feet  below  the  main 
Sewanee.  The  quantity  of  coal  mined  at  this  place  and 
used  in  the  furnaces  from  September  1,  1875,  to  August  31, 
1876,  inclusive,  is  shown  in  the  subjoined  table: 

September,  1875 56,944  bushels. 

October,  "     44,441  " 

November,     "     61,796  " 

December,      "     54,079  " 

January,      1876 40,149  " 

February,       "     4-5,312  " 

March,  "     54,666  " 

April,  "     63,103  " 

May,  "     ...  48,834  " 

June,  "     51,406 

July,  0  "     42,794  " 

August,  "     47,141  " 

Aggregating  for  the  year 610,665  bushel?. 

About  six-sevenths  of  this  quantity  is  converted  into 
coke,  one-seventh  being  used  raw  in  the  furnace.  The  coal 
yields  about  59  per  cent,  of  coke,  which,  though  sometimes 
injured  by  the  presence  of  shaly  matter,  has  proved  quite 
good  enough  for  all  furnace  purposes.  Twenty-eight  coke 
ovens  are  kept  in  blast,  with  a  capacity  each  of  130  bushels. 

The  iron  ore  for  the  furnace  is  obtained  from  a  ridge,  or 
rather  series  of  long,  rounded  hills,  lying  on  the  south- 
eastern side  of  the  valley  in  which  the  furnace  is  situated. 
The  seam  here  is  broken  by  numerous  faults,  forming  a 
broken  line.  The  seam  may  continue  perfectly  straight  for 
a  hundred  yards  or  more,  when  it  ends  abruptly  in  a  shaly 
bank,  but  it  is  always  found  to  the  right  or  left  a  few  yards 
distant,  witliout  a  trace  intervening;  again,  forming  on  the 
outcrop  a  curved  line  like  the  letter  S.  The  thickness  of 
the  seam  at  this  place  will  average  about  four  feet,  besides 
four  inches  of  ferruginous  limestone  below,  which  adheres 
to  a  dark-colored   shale.     Beautiful  specimens  of  brown 


Cincinnnti  Southern  Bailway.  57 

hematite,  in  "pots"  and  in  laminated  masses,  are  forming 
above  the  stratified  dyestone,  by  the  infiltration  of  water 
through  the  shales.  The  seam  of  ore  is  highly  inclined  to- 
wards the  mountain;  indeed,  in  places  it  is  almost  per- 
pendicular to  the  horizon.  Numerous  small  folds  occur, 
making  a  congeries  of  small,  wavy  layers,  only  a  few  inches 
across,  showing  intense  lateral  pressure.  A  section  was 
taken  above  the  furnace  as  follows,  beginning  at  the  top : 

Siliceous  group  of  tlie  Lower  Carboniferous. 

Black  shale,  about 75  feet. 

Gray  shale  22    " 

Hard,  bluish  shale  1     " 

Dyestone  ore 4     " 

Calcareous  dyestone 4  inches. 

Bluish  and  green  shales,  about 60  feet. 

Keddish  calcareous  shales,  alternating  with  ledges 

of  limestone,  weathering  badly. , 100     " 

Beneath  the  last  mentioned  strata  the  Trenton  rocks  crop 
out  in  the  valley,  nearly  on  edge,  and  of  great  thickness. 
Beyond  the  valley  the  Knox  limestones  appear,  a  fault 
occurring  here. 

The  seam  at  Rockwood  has  been  worked  to  the  water 
level  for  a})out  four  miles.  The  four  inches  of  calcareous 
dyestone  lying  below  is  not  received  at  the  furnace.  The 
ore  from  the  company's  lands  costs,  delivered  at  the  fur- 
nace, $1.40  j)er  ton;  that  from  other  points,  $2.  The  ore, 
as  it  appears  in  the  seam  three  miles  above  Rockwood,  is 
very  superior,  being  oolitic,  and  resembling  the  specular 
ore.  It  is  made  up  of  small  flattened  or  rounded  grains. 
It  is  very  soft,  and  has  a  steely  appearance.  Where  the 
oolitic  ore  is  found,  the  seam  is  often  disturbed  by  plica- 
tions or  "horsebacks."  By  exposure  this  ore  soon  crum- 
bles into  a  powdery  mass.  It  is  the  richest  ore  found 
around  the  furnace.  The  analyses  below,  made  by  A.  W. 
Kinsey,  chemist,  will  give  the  relative  value  of  the  differ- 
ent varieties.    For  these  analyses  I  am  indebted  to  C.  Con- 


58  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

stable,  the  energetic  and  intelligent  manager  of  the  fur- 
naces : 

No.  1.     Fine  ore,  soft,  steely;  separated  from  the  lump. 

Peroxide  of  iron 71.64 

Lime  and  alumina 14.56 

Silica 8.80 

Phosphorus 72 

Metallic  iron  .-. 50  15 

No.  2.  Lump,  dull  ore,  solt;  constituting  the  average 
run  of  ore. 

Peroxide  of  iron 67.29 

Lime  and  alumina 11.20 

Silica 8.00      > 

Phosphorus 67 

Metallic  iron 47.10 

No.  3.     Fine,  steely,  hard  ore. 

Peroxide  of  iron 64.43 

Lime  14.00 

Silica  7.80 

Phosphorus 61 

Metallic  iron  45.10 

No.  4.  Ore  from  Kindrick's  bank  across  the  river,  and 
washed  at  the  furnace.  A  soft,  dark-colored,  porous  ore; 
after  crumbling,  resembling  a  reddish,  loamy  soil.  Analy- 
ses by  Kenneth  Robertson. 

Peroxide  of  iron 73.96 

Alumina 8.04 

Lime  1.09 

Silica 9.53 

Phosphorus 49 

Water,  carbonic  acid,  etc 5.00 

Metallic  iron 51.77 

No.  5.     Another  sample  from  same  place. 

Peroxide  of  iron 75.00 

Alumina  6.81 

Lime  00 

Silica 13.00 

Phosphorus 59 

Water,  carbonic  acid,  etc 4.60 

Metallic  iron 52.50 


Cincinnati  Southern  Bailway.  59^ 

The  coal  worked  in  the  furnace,  average  run  of  the- 
mines,  shows  the  following  by  analysis : 

Carbon : 76.40 

Volatile  matter 16.50 

Ash 6.65 

Sulpliur 33 

Loss 18 

The  shale  which  is  sometinies  found  immediately  asso- 
ciated with  the  coal,  and  always  lying  above  and  forming 
the  roof,  shows  the  following  ingredients : 

Peroxide  of  iron 6.47 

Alumina 22.33 

Lime 5.05 

Silica 62.66 

The  wages  paid,  and  the  men  employed,  at  the  furnace 

are  as  follows : 

One  founder,  $125  per  month. 

Two  keepers,  each  $1.75  per  day  and  an  interest  of  one  cent 

per  ton  on  all  metal  made. 
Two  helpers,  at  $1.50  each. 

Six  tillers— top  tillers,  per  day,  $1.50;  bottom,  $1.25. 
One  limestone  breaker,  per  day,  $1. 
Two  engineers,  each,  per  day,  $2. 
Common  laborers,  per  day,  $1. 
One  oiler,  per  day,  75  cents. 
Fireman  in  mines,  per  month,  $100. 
One  watchman,  per  day,  $1.25. 
Four  inside  drivers,  each,  per  day,  $1.45. 
Five  outside  drivers,  each,  per  day,  $1.30. 
Two  iron  men,  each,  per  day,  $1.25, 
Twenty  miners  are  employed  in  the  mines,  who  are  paid 

two  cents  per  bushel  for  raising  coal. 
Nine  men  and  one  foreman  are  employed  in  the  coke  yard. 

The  foreman  receives  $60  per  month,  and  oven-tenders  50 

cents  per  oven.     Three  drivers  are  also  employed,  at  $1 

per  day. 

For  the  purpose  of  conveying  the  iron  from  the  furnace- 
to  the  river,  a  narrow-gauge  railroad  has  been  constructed 
to  Eockwood  landing  at  King's  creek,  five  miles  distant,. 


'CO  Resources  of   Tennessee  Along  the 

An  engine  of  the  capacity  of  ten  tons  is  used  on  the  road. 
This  capacity  will  be  increased  to  fifteen  tons  by  an  im- 
provement in  the  grade  of  the  road. 

The  effects  upon  the  surrounding  country  by  the  con- 
struction of  these  furnaces  are  everywhere  apparent.  Neat 
farm  houses  have  sprung  up,  and  a  lively  demand  has  been 
created  for  all  farm  products.  The  village  has  three 
churches,  two  public  schools,  one  store,  one  hotel,  six 
blacksmith  shops,  two  wagon  shops,  one  livery  stable,  one 
bakery,  one  tin  shop,  and  three  shoemakers'  shops.  All 
this  improvement  has  taken  place  in  the  last  eight  years, 
and  shows  in  the  most  practical  manner  the  effects  of 
manufactures  upon  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  State. 
Wages  have  been  advanced  in  price,  but  agricultural  pro- 
ducts have  advanced  at  a  greater  ratio.  Civilization,  with 
all  its  ameliorating  influences,  has  sprung  up  in  a  spot  that 
was  a  wilderness  ten  years  ago.  Lands  are  more  valuable, 
and  a  general  air  of  prosperity  pervades  the  whole  region. 

FilOM    ROCKWOOD   TO   E.^IORY   MiNE. 

The  valley,  as  it  extends  above  Rockwood,  continues 
broken,  but  the  ariKnmt  of  arable  land  is  greater  than  the 
section  below  from  White's  creek  to  Rockwood,  and  more 
fertile.  The  average  yield  of  wheat  is  10  bushels  per  acre; 
corn,  40;  oats,  35.  The  valley  terminates  at  Iveagan's 
tunnel,  near  Emory  gap,  a  spur  running  from  the  mountain 
to  the  ridges  on  the  east. 

Patches  of  the  Trenton  rocks  are  seen  at  places  cropping 
out  at  the  surface.  The  Clinton  or  dyestone  formation  is 
continuous,  and  forms  quite  an  interesting  study  at  the 
Emory  Gap  tunnel,  seven  miles  above.  At  this  place  a 
fault  occurs,  the  downthrow  of  the  Cumberland  Table-laud 
on  the  west,  and  the  uplift  of  the  Knox  group  on  the  east, 
throwing  all  the  strata  of  the  Dyestone  group  entirely  over. 


Cincinnati  Southe7'n  Raihcay.  61 

reversing  the  order  not  only  in  dip  but  in  position.  The 
strata  here  dip  south-east  at  an  antrle  of  32  degrees.  Usu- 
ally the  Dyestone  group  dips  under  the  mountain.  The 
edge  of  the  strata  coming  out  from  the  mountain  has  been 
folded  back,  throwing  the  black  shale  and  Siliceous  group 
below  the  iron  ore.  The  section  taken  at  Emory  mine,  by 
Professor  Bradley,  (see  Emory  Mines)  illustrates  the  man- 
ner of  this  folding  back. 

The  tunnel  crosses  the  strata  at  an  angle  S.  60°  W.,  and 
a  section,  on  next  page,  kindly  furnished  me  by  C.  Breck- 
inridge, division  engineer,  will  prove  an  interesting  study 
for  geologists. 

From  the  Emory  Gap  or  Keagan  Tunnel,  eastward  to 
Kingston,  rounded,  cherty  ridges  prevail,  w^ith  trough-like 
ravines.  The  ridge  nearest  tlie  railroad  has  a  comjiaratively 
flat  top,  with  some  cultivated  areas,  though  the  soil  is  thin. 
The  prevailing  timber  is  black  oak,  white  oak  and  pine, 
with  an  undergrowth  of  dogwood.  Judging  from  the  char- 
acter of  the  natural  growth,  the  soil  is  well  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  tobacco.  The  ridge  nearest  the  Tennessee  River, 
and  running  parallel  with  it,  is  about  200  feet  high,  well 
wooded,  and  belongs  to  the  Knox  formation. 

Kingston  is  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Clinch  and 
Tennessee  Rivers,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  former,  and 
north  of  the  latter  stream.  It  is  120  miles  by  river  from 
Chattanooga,  and  five  miles  from  the  Cincinnati  South- 
ern Railroad.  It  has  a  population  of  about  1000,  and 
is  well  situated  for  manufacturing  establishments.  It  has 
eight  or  ten  commercial  establishments.  An  estal)lishment 
for  the  manufacture  of  steel  has  been  recently  erected.  The 
steel  is  made  by  a  new  process,  and  takes  a  high  rank  in 
the  market  for  the  manufacture  of  tools.  Only  six  hands 
are  employed,  and  the  product  amounts  to  about  26,000  lbs. 
per  month. 

A  large  amount  of  freight  is  brought  down  the  Clinch 


PS 

H 
;= 
O 


H 

Ph 

O 
o 


// 

//// 
// 


'//I 


nt^ 


/° 


'l/\ 


,V. 


^ 


!^lt^ 


fr'sl. 


■I?:. 


hm 


m 


r^ia 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  63 

during  high  water.  It  is  estimated  that  250  flat  boats  an- 
iiuaDy  come  down  that  stream,  loaded  with  corn,  bacon, 
bay,  oats,  dried  fruits,  pig-iron  from  Cumberh\nd  Gap,  and 
coal  from  P]mory  mine,  Poplar  Gap,  and  ])oints  above. 
Seven  steamboats  ply  the  Tennessee  River  to  this  point  and 
below.  Over  3  00  rafts  of  saw-logs,  in  addition  to  other 
produce,  are  floated  to  Chattanooga  and  points  below  from 
the  country  watered  by  the  Clinch.  Immediately  in  the 
vicinity  of  Kingston  there  are  extensive  and  valuable  de- 
posits of  iron  ore.  Those  south  of  the  river  hav^e  been 
mentioned  in  the  report  of  the  Ocoee  and  Hiwassee  mineral 
district.  Deposits  of  brown  hematite  are  found  in  a  ridge 
east  of  Kingston.  Baryta  occurs,  of  excellent  quality, 
near  the  Tennessee  River.  Some  beautiful  variegated  mar- 
ble is  found  south  of  the  same  stream.  Coal  exists  in  great 
abundance  within  six  miles  of  the  town,  and  many  valua- 
ble forests  of  excellent  timber  surround  it.  The  coal  can 
be  brought  down  the  Clinch  river  from  the  Emory  mine, 
Oakdale,  Poplar  Creek,  Coal  Creek,  and  from  other  points, 
at  a  small  cost.  Slack-water  navigation  would  enable  the 
coal  to  be  brought  out  at  any  season.  For  the  manufacture 
of  charcoal  and  stone-coal  iron  there  are  but  few  places  that 
combine  so  many  natural  advantages  as  Ivingston.  Should 
the  proposed  line  of  railroad,  leading  from  Lenoir's,  on  the 
East  Tennessee,  Virginia  and  Georgia  Railroad,  to  Emory 
Gap,  on  the  Cincinnati  Southern,  be  constructed,  Kingston 
would  soon  rival  in  wealth  and  population  any  place  in 
East  Tennessee.  The  farming  lands  surrounding  it  are  ex- 
cellent, and  supplies  could  be  raised  to  feed  a  large  popula- 
tion. The  first  and  second  bottoms,  which  include  all  the 
lands  between  the  rivers  and  the  hills,  are  half  a  mile,  and 
sometimes  even  a  mile  wide.  It  rarely  happ.Mis  that  good 
bottom  lands  are  found  on  opposite  sides  of  this  stream,  but 
this  happens  below  Kingston.  The  lower  bottoms,  with 
slovenly   cultivation,  make  from  fifty  to  sixty  bushels  of 


64 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


corn  per  acre,  and  hay  in  great  quantities.  Oats  frequently 
fail  by  reason  of  rust  on  the  lower  hmd.s,  which  yield  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  bushels  on  clover  sod.  Board  timber  is 
abundant,  and  lumber  of  all  kinds  is  cheap,  varying,  ac- 
cording to  quality,  from  one  dollar  to  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  hundred. 

Emory  Coal  Mines. 

These  mines  have  been  opened  on  the  south-eastern  side 
of  Walden's  Ridge,  along  the  north-eastern  line  of  Roane 
county,  between  the  Little  Emory  and  Big  Emory  rivers, 
and  two  or  three  miles  distant  from  the  railroad.   , 

There  are  two  thick  seams  of  coal  at  this  place,  besides 
three  or  four  thin  ones.  The  main  seam  worked  is  in  Wal- 
den's Ridge,  and  is  the  equivalent  of  the  Rock  wood  seam,, 
and  designated  in  Prof.  Bradley's  section  as  Coal  No.  6. 
Its  average  thickness  is  about  four  feet,  while  in  many  places 
it  reaches  five,  though  pinching  down  at  others  to  three  or 
less.  The  average  dip  is  about  sixty  degrees.  The  section 
taken  from  Prof.  Bradley's  report  to  the  Wilcox  Mining 
Company,  given  below,  will  show  the  general  position  of 
the  strata : 


Cindnnati  Southern  Railway.  65 

If  this  section  were  continued  southward  to  the  dump- 
house  on  Big  Emory  river,  it  would  pass  across  about  3,000 
feet  of  Cincinnati  and  Trenton  rocks  and  utiotlier  l)and  of 
the  Dyestone  group.  East  of  the  dump-house  the  Black 
Slate  and  St.  Louis  limestones  are  seen.  The  position  of 
the  strata  1 ,200  yards  east  of  Bemess  ferry  on  Big  Emory 
north  to  AVhetstone  mountain,  is  so  interesting,  that  I  give 
Prof.  Bradley's  description  in  full,  he  having  spent  a  con- 
siderable time  upon  the  ground  in  working  it  out. 

"  In  approaching  the  property,"  says  Prof  Bradley  in  his 
able  and  elaborate  report,  "  whether  by  the  direct  road  from 
Knoxville  or  from  Kingston,  and  while  yet  about  two  miles 
from  the  Company's  store,  we  pass  from  the  Knox  group 
across  the  fault" — (the  fault  spoken  of  begins  near  Bemess 
ferry  and  runs  east,  showing  on  the  south  the  shales  of  the 
Knox  group,  and  on  the  north  the  Dyestone  grouj>) — "just 
mentioned,  directly  to  the  shales  of  the  Dyestone  group, 
dipping  southward.  At  the  tannery,  on  the  Knoxville 
road,  one  bed  of  the  dyestone  or  argillaceous  lenticular  iron 
ore  is  exposed ;  and  the  second  may  exist,  though  I  have 
not  seen  it  here.  Thence  we  cross  an  anticlinal  valley,  in 
which  the  Cincinnati  group  limestones  are  not  generally  un- 
covered by  the  overlying  shales,  except  near  the  Big  Emory, 
and  find  it  followed  by  a  synclinal  ridge,  at  the  nearer  base 
of  which  both  bands  of  dyestone  are  developed,  and  have 
been  worked,  in  former  years,  for  the  supply  of  the  old 
Emory  furnace,  long  since  destroyed,  whose  site  is  recog- 
nized by  the  masses  of  cinders  scattered  on  the  left  of  the 
road  as  we  approach  the  ford  of  little  Emory  river.  Both 
the  Black  Shale  and  the  Subcarboniferous  limestones  are 
here  prominently  develoj)ed;  and  the  section  at  this  point 
afforded  the  larger  measures  of  thickness  of  these  beds 
recorded  in  the  general  section.  The  synclinal  fold  is 
a  very  sharp  one,  the  dip  on  its  southern  side  being  here 
84°  (N.  30°  W.),  while  on  its  northern  side  it  reaches  63° 
5 


66  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

and  (iQ°  (S.  30°  E.).  Where  it  approaches  the  Big  Emory, 
the  ridge  has  been  so  cut  off  by  ancient  river  action  as  to 
put  the  outcrops  of  the  iron  seams,  on  its  southern  side,  out 
of  sight  under  the  alluvium  ;  at  the  same  time,  the  northern 
side  of  the  fold  has  become  so  nearly  vertical  as  to  leave  it 
<loubtful  which  way  the  beds  dip,  without  more  excavation 
than  has  yet  been  done.  The  synclinal  has  not  been  traced 
across  and  beyond  the  bed  of  the  river;  but  the  iron  seams 
on  its  northern  side  are  exposed  where  they  cross  the  valley 
road,  about  two  miles  further  west." 

The  structure  will  be  best  understood  by  constant  refer- 
ence to  the  accompanying  section,  as  given  by  Prof.  Bradley. 

"  Crossing  the  anticlinal  of  the  valley,  the  axis  of  which 
runs  near  the  Company's  store,  we  approach  Walden's 
Ridge.  The  iron  ore  said  to  have  been  encountered  in  dig- 
ging the  cellar  of  Mr.  D'Armond's  new  house,  has  not  been 
found  at  any  other  point ;  and  we  can  only  infer  that  it  is  a 
local  development  of  the  thin  and  generally  worthless  seams 
ot  red  hematite  which  are  often  found  accompanying  the 
limestones  of  the  base  of  the  Cincinnati  or  the  top  of  the 
Trenton  group,  in  East  Tennessee.  But,  at  the  foot  of  the 
ridge,  the  Dyestone  group  again  shows  its  two  seams  of  ore. 
These  cross  the  tramroad,  just  above  the  blacksmith's  shop 
at  the  foot  of  the  incline,  and  stand  nearly  vertical.  The 
Devonian  and  Subcarboniferous  shales  and  limestones,  which 
follow,  are  overturned  along  their  outcrop,  and  dip  52°,  S. 
?)0°  E.  The  same  dip  was  noticed  in  these  beds  on  the 
bank  of  the  Little  Emory,  at  the  mouth  of  D'Armond's 
Gap.  This  overthrow  cannot,  apparently,  have  extended 
far  downward.  The  overthrow  was  evidently  greatest  at 
the  Little  Emory,  where  even  Coal  No.  5  (first  below  the 
Rockwood  seam)  fails  to  come  to  the  surface  the  third  time 
in  the  front  fold  of  the  strata.  As  we  pass  westward,  the 
overthrow  diminishes  rapidly,  and    disappears   before    we 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  67 

• 
reach  Goddard's  Gap.  Beyond  that  jioint  there  is  another 
front  fold  of  the  coal  strata,  though  of  less  extent  than  on 
Little  Emory,  which  may  ])ossihly  be  accompanied  by 
another  overthrow  of  the  lower  beds;  but  I  have  not  ex- 
amined them  particularly  in  that  neighborhood.  Along 
most  of  the  Ridge  this  double  folding  of  the  strata  has  not 
taken  place,  and  the  position  is  evident  and  simple.  Near 
the  Gap,  and  opposite  the  front  fold,  the  beds  near  and  in- 
cluding Coal  Xo.  6  reach  and  even  pass  Vertically  near  the 
top  of  the  Ridge ;  but  further  west  they  come  low  down  on 
its  front  face,  and  have  a  general  dip  of  58°,  N,  30°  W., 
which  is  continued  in  the  overlying  strata  to  the  very  crest 
of  the  Ridge,  though  beyond  that  point,  from  one  to  three 
of  the  overlying  beds  of  sandstone  are,  in  different  places, 
bent  from  10°  to  20°  beyond  verticality.  From  this  irreg- 
ularity it  would  appear  that  no  very  extensive  series  of 
strata  could  have  been  on  top  of  them  at  the  time  of  their 
upheaval.  Passing  westward  along  the  Ridge,  we  find  the 
dip  undulating;  at  one  point  falling  to  30°,  and  again,  as  at 
(loddard's  Gap,  rising  to  80°.  Beyond  the  latter  point  it 
declines  again  to  the  average  of  about  60°;  but  the  main 
-coal  seams  are  here  beyond  the  crest  of  the  Ridge,  by  rea- 
son of  the  great  bend  in  its  course." 

At  the  mines  an  entry  has  been  driven  in  for  210  feet 
through  a  stratum  of  dark  ferny  shales  and  heavy  bedded 
and  shaly  sandstones,  with  a  dip  towards  the  north  or  north- 
west. At  this  distance  the  Rockwood  seam  (No.  6)  is  cut, 
and  I'ooms  turned  to  the  right  and  left.  The  seam  outcrops 
about  100  feet  above  the  lower  entry,  and  636  above  floor 
of  the  dum])-house.  The  outcrop  shows  five  feet,  with  a 
large  thickness  of  dark  clay  shale  below.  Another  entry 
was  made  twenty  feet  below  the  outcrop,  an<l  the  two 
united  by  a  slope  through  the  coal.  The  coal  is  lowered 
over  a  double-track  incline.  This  incline  is  about  1000  feet 
in  length,  and  the  cars  are  let  down  by  a  horizontal  drum 


68  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

and  Iron  or  steel  cable.  From  the  foot  of  the  incline  to*the 
rear,  nearly  two  miles,  there  is  a  norrow-gauge  tramway, 
over  which  one  mule  pulls  six  large  cars.  The  coal  at  the 
dump-house  is  loaded  in  barges,  and  floated  down  the  Big 
Emory  to  the  Clinch  and  Tennessee  rivers.  The  mines  are 
worked  now  only  to  a  limited  extent.  It  is  estimated  that 
not  over  10,000  bushels  were  taken  from  these  mines  for 
the  year  1876. 

The  quality  of  tl^e  coal  is  said  to  be  very  superior.  Prof. 
Wormley,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  says,  concerning  this  and 
coal  taken  from  an  upper  thin  seam,  they  are  the  best  coals 
he  has  analyzed.     His  analysis  is  given  below : 

Specific  Gravity 1.308 

Water  1.50 

Ash — light  fawn  color 7.70 

Volatile  matter 27.70 

Fixed  Carbon — coke  compact 63.10 

100.00 

Sulphur 0.53 

"       left  in  coke r. 0.45 

Permanent  gas  per  pound,  in  cubic  feet 3.32 

■  *'The  high  percentage  of  fixed  carbon  here  indicated," 
says  Prof.  Bradley,  "  together  with  the  fact  that  the  coal 
softens  very  little  in  the  fire,  shows  that  this  would  be  a  fine 
fuel  for  iron  furnaces  in  the  raw  state.  The  unusually 
small  percentage  of  sulphur  is  also  exceedingly  favorable 
for  this  purpose.  This  may  perhaps  be  increased  slightly 
in  some  portions  of  the  seam ;  but  the  entire  product  of  the 
mine  is  noticeably  free  from  sulphur,  at  least  in  the  form  of 
pyrite.  The  sample  sent  for  analysis  was  not  selected  for 
its  purity,  but  was  a  full  section  of  the  seam,  from  roof  to 
floor,  cut  from  the  top  of  the  main  entry  near  its  extremity. 
It  is  therefore  a  fair  sample  of  the  coal  as  sent  to  market. 
Its  lower  surface  has  been  exposed  in  the  entry  for  nearly 
two  years,  but  showed  no  sign  of  decomposition.     I  would 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  69 

have  preferred  a  sample  from  a  fresh  cut,  but  none  was  at 
that  time  readily  accessible.  The  exposure  may  have  re- 
duced the  amount  of  both  water  and  sulphur ;  but,  from  the 
wet  condition  of  the  roof  of  the  entry,  I  judge  that  the 
change  had  been  very  slight.  The  very  light  color  of  the 
ash  proves  the  amount  of  ii'on  to  be  very  small :  it  was  not 
separately  estimated.  Piles  of  coal  long  exposed  to  the  air 
show,  on  I  freshly-broken  surfaces,  the  iridescence  but  not 
the  color  of  the  iron  oxide  which  results  from  the  decompo- 
sition of  pyrite.  As  the  superintendent  of  the  Kuoxville 
Gas  Company  certifies  that  this  coal  yields,  in  his  retorts, 
4.47  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  pound,'the  yield  of  3,32  cubic  feet, 
shown  in  the  analysis,  may  be  taken  as  an  indication  that 
the  sample  sent  had  by  exposure  lost  a  part  of  its  volatile 
matter.  The  Gas  Company's  test  would  show  the  unusually 
large  yield  of  10,032  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  ton  ;  while  even 
the  analysis  shows  7,437  cubic  feet,  which,  taken  in  con- 
nection with  its  unusual  freedom  from  sulphur,  makes  this 
a  very  desirable  coal  for  all  gas  companies  who  are  not  too 
far  from  the  mines." 

The  coal  taken  from  No.  10  shows  well  from  the  analysis 

given  by  Prof.  Wormley  ? 

Specific  gravity 1.285 

Water •. 1.50 

Asli — light  fawn  color 2.60 

Volatile  matter 30.10 

Fixed  carbon — coke  compact 65.80 

100.00 

Sulphur 0.71 

"       left  in  coke 0.52 

Permanent  gas  per  pound  in  cubic  feet 3.32 

"  As  the  portion  of  the  seam  whence  this  sample  was 
taken  has  been  hardly  at  all  disturbed,  the  fine  quality  of 
the  coal  would  seem  to  depend  upon  its  original  composi- 
tion rather  than   upon   the  natural  cajcing  process,  which 


70  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

has  probably  benefitted  the  lower  seams.  This  seam,  though 
occasionally  thickening  to  two-and-a-half  and  three  feet,  as 
is  said  to  have  been  frequently  the  case  in  the  old  workings 
in  Tarkill  Ridge,  does  not  average  over  two  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and  occasionally  thins  out  to  one  foot.  Portions  that 
are  of  average  thickness,  as  is  the  case  with  the  most  of  that 
on  Laurel  Branch,  are  too  thin  to  be  worked  profitably  by 
hand,  but  can  probably  be  advantageously  mined  by  ma- 
chinery. The  coal  cakes  in  the  fire  more  than  that  of  No. 
6,  and  would  probably  prove  to  l)e  a  superior  blacksmi th- 
ing coal.  It  is  the  hardest  bituminous  coal  that  I  have 
ever  seen,  and  would  bear  transportation  with  very  little 
breakage.  It  is  evidently  a  valuable  gas  coal.  Though  it 
cakes  somewhat  in  the  fire,  it  is  probable  that  it  could  be 
used  in  the  iron  furnace,  if  mixed  with  coke.  Coal  taken 
from  this  seam  at  the  old  openings  in  Tarkill  Ridge  had  a 
good  reputation  in  Kingston,  both  for  blacksmithing  and 
for  house  use." 

The  seams  of  dyestone  ore  at  this  place  have  not  been 
examined  to  any  great  extent.  There  are  two  all  along  the 
foot  of  Walden's  Ridge.  These  vary  in  thickness  from  a 
few  inches  to  four  feet  or  more.  Near  Big  Emory  river 
two  seams  crop  out  and  extend  northward,  showing  them- 
selves at  the  base  of  the  synclinal.  A  few  hundred  dollars 
spent  in  prospecting  woifld,  doubtless,  reveal  as  much  iron 
ore  at  this  point  as  at  Rockwood,  below,  or  Oakdale  above. 
With  iron  ore,  coal  and  limestone,  all  lying  within  half-a- 
mile  of  one  another,  no  better  site  could  be  found  for  the 
erection  of  a  furnace  or  a  number  of  them.  If  such  a  lo- 
cality were  owned  by  the  State,  and  a  penitentiary  estab- 
lished, it  might  solve  the  difficult  question  of  what  to  do 
with  our  convicts.  Employed  in  making  iron,  they  would 
not  come  into  competition  with  the  mechanics  or  coal- 
miners,  and  the  product  of  their  labor  might  be  considered 
raw  material,  to  be  worked  up  by  the  skill  and  ingenuity 


Omcinnati  Southern  Baihcoy.  71 

of  the  artisan.  The  erection  and  working  of  ten  or  fifteen 
furnaces  would  not  produce  a  ])erceptible  eifect  ui)on  the 
price  of  iron.  Such  an  establishment  might  be  leased,  and 
all  the  trouble  arising  from  competition  with  the  mechanics 
of  the  State  avoided,  as  less  than  ten  per  cent,  of  skilled  la- 
bor is  required  in  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron. 

Oakdale  Furnace. 

This  furnace,  though  not  lying  immediately  upon  the 
line  of  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad,  comes  within  the 
scope  of  territory  proposed  to  be  embraced  in  this  report. 
It  is  situated  ten  miles  north  of  Kingston,  and  about  an 
equal  distance  from  the  railroad,  and  four  miles  east  of  the 
mouth  of  Little  Emory  River.  The  furnace  was  erected 
in  1873,  and  has  a  capacity  of  thirty  tons  in  twenty-four 
hours.  It  was  in  blast  only  sixty-four  days  when  the  com- 
pany suspended  operations.  The  height  of  the  stack  is  63i 
feet,  bell  top,  hot  blast,  bosh  16  feet,  4  tuyers,  and  a 
draught-stack  90  feet  high.  It  has  a  battery  of  four  boil- 
ers 50  feet  long  and  42  inches  in  diameter;  a  blowing  en- 
gine with  2  steam  cylinders  26]  inches  in  diameter,  and 
the  blowing  cylinder  68|  inches  diameter,  with  six  feet 
stroke.  The  whole  amount  of  iron  made  was  781  tons. 
Just  before  it  ceased  operation  it  was  doing  excellent  work. 
A  report  for  one  week  shows:  iron  made,  140  tons;  con- 
sumption of  coke  per  ton  of  iron,  102  5-10  bushels;  ore 
per  ton  of  iron  roasted  and  raw  mixed,  2  9-100;  limestone 
one-half  ton. 

A  tram-way  has  been  built  to  the  mouth  of  Little  Emory, 
four  miles  long,  by  which  the  pig  iron  was  carried  out  and 
loaded  on  barges  for  transportation  down  the  river. 

Quite  a  little  village  was  built  up  around  the  furnace, 
consisting  of  two  hundred  and  fi^ty  houses,  but  in  the  ab- 
sence of  active  operations  very  few  are  at  present  occupied. 


72  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

The  coal  seams  at  this  place  have  been  attacked  at  three 
points — one  of  them  in  a  spur  of  Walden's  llidge,  and  sep- 
arated from  it  by  a  low  gap;  the  other  two  in  Walden's 
Ridge.  The  main  entry,  No.  1,  is  in  the  spur,  and  h:is  been 
driven  in  through  hard  sandstone  280  feet,  at  which  dis- 
tance it  cuts  the  almost  vertical  seam.  At  right  angles 
from  this  entry  a  drift  has  been  run  560  feet  north-east, 
and  another,  700  feet  south-west,  making  a  total  of  1,260 
feet  on  that  level.  At  one  place  the  coal  disappeared  for  a 
short  distance.  The  drift  between  was  continued  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  without  striking  the  coal,  but  it  proved 
afterward  that  it  was  running  parallel  with  the  seam,  a 
slight  curve  in  the  seam  throwing  the  miners  to  one  side. 
There  are  numerous  horse-backs  in  the  coal,  and  the  thick- 
ness varies  from  a  few  inches  to  twenty  feet.  The  coal  is 
much  crushed  at  places  in  this  spur,  as  though  the  spur  had 
been  broken  off  by  some  terrible  earth-throe,  and  the  strata 
forced  into  one  another,  shivering  and  crushing  the  whole 
mass.  The  coal  is  l)y  no  means  homogeneous;  some  of  the 
specimens  are  very  soft,  and  crumble  in  handling,  while  at 
other  places  the  coal  is  a  hard  lump,  and  would  bear  ship- 
ping any  distance.  The  dip  of  the  seam  is  often  reversed, 
but  its  general  direction  is  toward  the  mountain.  Two 
seams  have  been  found  in  driving  this  entry. 

As  analyzed  by  E.  H.  Potter,  the  coal  gives  the  follow- 
ng  result: 

Fixed  Carbon 56.150 

Phosphoric  acid 640 

Sulphur 1.207 

Volatile  matter 34.500 

Ash 7.500 

The  entire  product  of  this  entry  was  296,830  bushels. 

Entry  No.  2,  is  north-east  of  No.  1,  nearer  the  summit. 
Very  little  coal  was  taken  from  this.  No.  3  is  two  hundred 
yards  from  No.  2. 


Cincinnati  Southern   Raibray.  73 

Waklen's  Ridge,  proper,  rises  eight  Imndred  and  fifty  feet 
above  the  valley  in  which  the  furnace  is  situated.  The 
main  mine  to  the  west  of  Walden's  Ridge  is  separated  from 
it  by  a  deep  gulf,  with  very  steep  slopes.  In  this  portion 
of  the  Cumberland  Table-land  the  surface  is  very  rugged, 
wild,  and  broken,  with  innumerable  ridges  and  peaks 
standing  boldly  above  the  general  level.  Looking  to  the 
north-west  from  the  top  of  Walden's  Ridge,  the  landscape, 
covered  with  a  dense  forest,  appears  like  a  boisterous  sea. 
Scarcely  a  single  field  can  be  seen  for  many  miles.  In  this 
narrow,  mountain  -  environed  valley,  between  "Walden's 
Ridge  and  the  Cumberland  Mountain,  a  few  patches  are 
cleared  and  cultivated  by  the  hardy  mountaineers.  The 
"wild  mountain  grasses  are  abundant. 

The  strata  of  Walden's  Ridge,  above  Oakdale,  are  highly 
inclined  —  often  perpendicular  —  and  occasionally  several 
degrees  beyond  verticality.  Two  coal  seems  have  been 
opened  in  the  south-eastern  face  of  this  ridge,  which  show 
a  thickness  of  between  three  and  four  feet.  A  gorge  inter- 
venes between  this  and  the  spur  from  which  most  of  the 
coal  has  been  taken.  There  is  no  sign  of  coal  in  the  north- 
eastern end  of  this  spur. 

There  are  three,  if  not  four,  seams  of  fossil  ore  to  be 
found  in  the  valley  hills.  The  principal  mining  was  done 
two  miles  south-west  of  the  furnace.  Here  two  seams  are  ■ 
separated  from  each  other  by  about  forty  feet  of  grayish 
shale.  A  shaft  was  sunk  a  considerable  depth  between  the 
two  seams,  and  drifts  run  out  in  opposite  directions,  strik- 
ing the  two  seams.  The  seams  at  the  outcrop  were  very 
thin,  but  at  the  depth  of  fifty  feet  they  increased  to  eigh- 
teen inches.  There  vvere  taken  from  this  shaft,  and  another 
seam  a  mile  further  north,  4,480  tons.  The  two  seams,  be- 
tween which  tiie  shaft  was  sunk,  are  probably  the  same, 
forming  the  outcrops  of  a  decapitated  fold.  The  two  are 
said  to  unite  five  miles  above  the  furnace. 


74  Resources  of  Tennessee  Alo7ig  the 

The  ore  outcrops  again  nearer  Walden's  Ridge,  with  a 
general  direction  east  of  north.  This  is  probably  an  out- 
croping  of  a  synclinal  fold  on  the  east,  as  the  Black  shale 
and  Siliceous  group,  with  the  mountain  limestone  are  found 
in  both  ridges  which  lie  en'^tward  between  this  outcrop  and 
the  two  alread}^  mentioned.  This  limestone  was  used  as  a 
flux  in  the  furnace. 

At  Poplar  Creek,  four  mihs  above  Oakdale,  there  is  a 
complete  cut  in  AValden's  Ridge,  known  as  Winter's  Gap. 
Three  seams  of  coal  have  been  opened  here,  one  of  which,. 
in  the  main  mountain,  is  seven  feet  thick.  A  good  deal  of 
coal  was  shipped,  many  years  ago,  from  this  point  to  Knox- 
ville,  Chattanooga,  and  Huntsville,  Ala.  It  is  thought  lb- 
be  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  coal  in  the  State,  being 
very  hard,  free-burning,  and  bearing  shipment  without  loss 
Mining  is  only  done  here  now  for  local  purposes.  Coal  i& 
also  mined,  to  a  small  extent,  at  Frost  Bottom  and  the 
mountain  fork  of  Poplar  Creek. 

Near  this  gap,  in  the  valley  behind  Walden's  Ridge,  a 
salt  well  was  bored  one  thousand  feet  deep  many  years 
since,  and  water  obtained  which  yielded  eight  per  cent  of 
salt.  The  work  on  the  well  'i;ts  recently  been  resumed^ 
and  it  is  confidently  believed  that  large  quantities  of  salt 
will  soon  be  manufactured  at  this  point. 

The  seam  of  dyestone  ore  maintains  its  persistency  all  the 
way  from  Oakdale  to  Winter's  Gap,  and  up  even  to  Cum- 
berland Gap,  keeping  its  intra-valley  position  throughout 
its  course,  making  its  length  in  the  State  quite  one  hundred 
and  sixty  miles,  and  capable  of  supplying  ore  for  untold 
ages. 

Retracing  our  steps  now  to  Emouy  Gap,  which  is  a  cut 
through  Walden's  Ridge,  we  find  the  railroad  taking  this 
as  its  easiest  and  quickest  ascent  to  the  top  of  the  Cumber- 
land plateau.  The  strata  in  this  remarkable  ridge  are  here 
nearly  perpendicular,  but  dip])ing  in    the  usual  direction. 


Cincinnaii  Southern  Railway.  75- 

Tt  has  been,  and  still  is,  a  matter  of  doubt  as  to  how  far 
the  inclined  strata  extend  under  the  mountain.  In  digging 
out  the  foundation  for  the  jMers  of  the  bridge  in  the  bed  of 
the  river,  a  horizontal  bed  of  dark  shale  was  encountered 
in  the  direct  line  of  Walden's  Ridge,  here  cut  away  by 
ancient  river  action.  The  edge  of  this  shale  bed  rests 
nearly  perpendicularly  against  the  upturned  sandstone. 
The  elevation  of  the  road-bed  here  is  803  feet  above  tide 
water  in  Mobile  bay,  while  the  elevation  of  low  water 
mark  in  Emory  river  is  728  feet.  The  bridge  at  this  point 
will  be  520  feet  long,  crossing  the  river  at  a  considerable 
angle. 

On  each  side  of  the  railroad  line,  which  follows  the  left 
bank  of  Emory  river  (the  right  going  up),  for  three  or 
four  miles,  are  high  bluffs,  sometimes  with  steep  escarp- 
ments, but  more  generally  sloping  down  by  the  accumu- 
tion  of  talus  to  the  water's  edge.  These  are  made  of 
heavy  and  thin  bedded  sandstone,  interstratified  with  mica- 
ceous sandy  shales.  After  passing  Walden's  Ridge  the 
strata  take  a  very  gentle  dip  to  the  north.  The  shales  in 
places  have  a  curled  or  rolled  up  appearance — at  the  out- 
crop folded  around  an  axis,  and  resembling  the  bark  of  a 
<lead  tree.  So  perfect  is  the  deception  that  in  many  places 
it  is  hard,  without  close  inspection,  to  tell  these  curled 
masses  from  the  trunks  of  imbedded  trees. 

The  character  of  the  country,  after  leaving  Emory  Gap, 
changes  entirely.  Here  we  have  the  carbonferous  sand- 
stone formation  on  both  sides.  No  more  cultivated  farms 
are  seen,  and  very  rarely  a  house.  The  rough  hills  rise  to 
various  elevations  above  the  railroad.  Ascending  these 
some  plateau  lands  are  found,  extending  in  strips  between 
elevated  points,  and  often  dissected  by  streams.  The  soil  is- 
sandstone,  variable  in  its  productive  capacity,  but  essen- 
tially the  same  in  composition.  Its  producing  capacity  is 
affected  by  location  ;  sometimes,  also,  by  the  proportion  of 


76  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

argillaceous  matter  in  composition.  This  clayey  matter 
adds  to  its  fertility.  Where  there  is  an  undue  preponder- 
ance of  sand  it  becomes  very  sterile.  The  soil  from  Emory 
Gap  to  the  State  line  may  be  thus  classified : 

1.  Thin  sandy  soil,  resting  upon  sandstone,  which  comes 
near  the  suface.  This  is  unfruitful,  both  from  original 
poverty  of  constitution  and  from  a  want  of  depth.  Very 
few  trees  attain  any  size  upon  this. 

2.  Sandy  soil,  light  but  deep.  Upon  this  the  wild 
grasses  spring  up,  and  retain  their  succulence  until  the 
heated  months  of  July  and  August.  The  characteristic 
timber  upon  this  is  chestnut  oak,  interspersed  with  groves 
of  yellow  pine. 

3.  Sandy  soil  over  a  mulatto  clay.  This,  by  reason  of 
the  clayey  foundation,  which  enables  it  to  catch  and  pre- 
serve fertilizing  material,  is  the  best  of  all  the  upland  soils 
of  the  mountain.  It  is  very  fertile  upon  the  north  hill 
sides,  assuming  in  such  places  a  black  color  very  much  like 
the  black  prarie  lands  of  Texas,  but  more  friable  and  not 
so  waxey.  Heavy  timl)er  of  all  kinds  characterize  this 
soil.  Upon  the  level  areas,  where  it  prevails,  extensive 
white  oak  forests  occur;  u])on  northern  slopes,  walnut, 
poplar,  maple,  hornbeam,  hickory,  buckeye,  and  black  oak. 

4.  Alluvium  along  the  water  courses,  black  and  friable, 
resembling  the  best  lands  on  northern  slopes,  but  of  greater 
depth.  Highly  productive.  Sugar  maple,  walnut,  poplar, 
and  shag-bark  hickory  delight  in  such  places.  These  bot- 
tom lands  are  very  narrow  in  the  counties  above  Emory 
Gap. 

5.  Glade  lands — the  beds,  probably,  of  ancient  lakes — 
in  which  has  accumulated  vegetable  material;  soil  black 
usually — sometimes  ashen — always  charged  with  humic 
acid  to  such  a  degree  as  to  be  unproductive,  unless  thor- 
oughly drained  and  sweetened  by  aeration  No  timber 
is  found  in  such  places  except  such  as  will  flourish  in  wet 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  77 

soils.  A  few  water  oaks,  the  red  flowering  maple,  and 
the  sweet  gum  cliaracterize  such  spots.  When  cleared  a 
wild,  coarse  grass,  known  as  hear  grass,  springs  up.  It 
properly  belongs  to  the  sedge  (cyperacte)  family.  This 
grass  yields  very  largely,  and  has  some  nutritious  proper- 
tips.  When  properly  improved,  and  seeded  to  herds  grass, 
these  glady  spots  will  produce  the  most  luxuriant  crops  for 
many  years,  often  paying  the  total  cost  of  their  reclama- 
tion and  improvement  the  first  year.  Thousands  of  these 
places  are  found  all  over  the  Cumberland  Table-land,  now 
lying  worthless  and  unproductive,  but  which  will  ultimately 
be  considered  the  most  desirable  spots  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses in  that  division  of  the  State. 

Such  are  the  general  features  of  the  section  under  con- 
sideration so  far  as  the  soils  are  concerned.  As  to  the 
timber  and  cultivated  crops,  these  will  be  noticed  in  detail 
as  we  proceed,  together  with  the  mineral  deposits. 

Passing  along  the  line  of  the  railroad  northward  the 
first  coal  occurs  two  miles  and  a  half  above  the  gap,  the 
seam  of  which  has  been  cut  by  the  excavation.  This  coal 
is  thirty  inches  thiclc.  Lying  above  it  is  a  heavy  bed  of 
bluish  shales,  and  shaley  sandstones  below.  The  strata  dip- 
northwestwardly  at  an  angle  of  fifteen  degrees.  This  coal 
outcrops  fifty  feet  below  tunnel  No.  26,  which  penetrates  a 
massive  layer  of  black  sandy  shale,  that  usually  disinte- 
grates rapidly  when  exposed  to  the  weather.  This  tunnel 
is  1,600  feet  long.  Passing  out  of  this  tunnel  northward  a 
lower  seam  of  coal,  fifteen  inches  at  the  outcrop,  appears 
on  the  right,  dipping  under  tunnel  Ko.  26.  We  enter  the 
mouth  of  tunnel  No.  25,  at  the  distance  of  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  yards.  Right  at  the  mouth  of  this  tun- 
nel is  a  local  fault,  where  a  great  protruding  mass  of  sand- 
stone has  been  uplifted,  throwing  the  coal  seam  above  the 
top  of  the  tunnel.  Beyond  the  tunnel,  which  has  been 
driven  through  this  uplifted  sandstone,  the  coal  seam  comes 


78  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

down  again  to  the  level  of  the  road-l)ed.  The  coal  here 
lies  between  the  sandstones,  shales  appearing  above,  sepa- 
rated from  the  coal  by  twenty  feet  of  sandstone.  The  dip 
toward  the  north-west,  is  reversed  a  hundred  yards  above 
the  tunnel. 

Three  miles  above  tunnel  Xo.  25,  is  another  seam,  proba- 
})ly  lower  geologically  than  either  of  the  others.  This  seam 
rests  upon  a  shaley  sandstone,  witli  twenty-five  feet  of  buif 
■colored  slates  above,  then  thin  and  heavy  bedded  sandstone, 
the  same,  probal)ly,  under  which  occurs  the  coal  two  and  a 
half  miles  above  the  tunnel.  The  coal  at  this  latter  place 
lies  in  a  low  synclinal,  the  seam  being  about  three  feet 
thick.  The  character  of  the  coal  is  good.  Applications 
have  been  made  to  the  officers  of  the  road  to  drift  into  the 
seam  at  right  angles  to  the  road-bed,  but  as  .this  would 
interfere  with  the  stability  of  the  slopes  of  the  cut,  it  was 
refused.  A  shaft  could  be  sunk  on  the  slope  above,  and 
the  coal  taken  out  by  u  drum,  and  dumped  into  the  cars  on 
the  track  below. 

Outcroppings  of  coal  seams  are  repoi;J;ed  on  the  right  and 
left  of  the  road.  Generally,  tlie  thickest  outcrops  lie  back 
from  the  road  a  few  miles,  and  occur  at  or  near  the  foot  of 
the  hills  resting  upon  the  general  plateau. 

North  of  tunnel  Xo.  '25,  the  strata  show  as  much  dis- 
turbance as  the  minor  ridges  in  the  valley  of  East  Tennes- 
see. This  continues  uj)  to  tunnel  Xo.  24,  a  short  distance 
above.  This  tunnel  is  cut  tli rough  a  remarkable  bed  of 
black  shale,  or  slate,  whose  cleavage  is  perpendicular  to  th(i 
plane  of  stratification.  The  face  of  this  strata  is  almost  as 
smooth  as  ice,  presenting  the  appearance  of  a  solid  wall  of 
masonry  on  the  side  of  the  approach  to  the  tunnel.  Near 
the  center  of  this  tunnel  the  sandstone  comes  down  from 
the  top  four  or  five  feet,  and  forms  the  sides  and  top  of  the 
tunnel.  There  is  a  fault,  also,  immediately  over  the  tunnel, 
the   sandstone    having  dropped  down    in   a   perpendicular 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  79 

fracture.  This  tunnel  is  2,030  feet  long.  The  next  tunnel, 
No.  23,  a  mile  or  two  above,  is  cut  through  sandstone,  and 
is  800  feet  long.  At  tunnel  Xo.  22,  there  is  a  good  seam 
•of  coal  thirty  inches  thick  on  the  sandstone  above  the  tun- 
nel. This  tunnel  passes  through  dark  colored  shale.  Two 
miles  above  a  horizontal  seam  of  coal,  eighteen  inches 
thick,  appears  on  the  left  of  the  road-bed  between  strata  of 
shales,  with  heavy  bedded  gray  sandstone  below.  This 
sandstone  is  excellent  for  buihling  purposes,  and  is  used  by 
the  engineer  in  charge  in  constructing  culverts  and  protect- 
ing walls.  Here  an  extensive  quarry  has  been  opened,  the 
strata  being  perfectly  horizontal. 

Waetburg  and  Vicinity. 

Wartburg,  the  county  seat  of  Morgan  county,  lies  three 
miles  to  the  east  of  this  point,  and  is  a  place  deserving  of 
some  mention,  on  account  (>f  its  location,  and  the  experi- 
ments which  have  been  made  in  the  vicinity  in  the  growing 
-of  fruits.  The  town  is  situated  1,500  feet  above  the  sea, 
on  a  considerable  plateau  which  extends  southward  for  ten 
ov  twelve  miles  to  the  breaks  near  Emory  Gap.  This 
j)lateau  is  traversed  by  occasional  ravines  and  deep  gorges,, 
hemmed  in  by  precipitous  sandstone  bluffs.  On  the  north- 
east Ward's  Mountain  looms  up  in  majestic  proportions 
iil)Out  1,200  feet  above  the  town,  and  2,700  feet  above  the 
sea.  It  is  a  long,  rounded-toj)  ridge,  whose  general  course 
is  north-east  and  south-west.  Its  slopes  are  densely 'clothed 
with  forests  of  excellent  timber,  consisting  of  chestnut, 
<!hestnut-oak,  pine,  and  black  gum.  On  the  north-western 
slope  many  walnut  trees  are  found.  On  a  tract  of  5,000 
acres,  lying  on  its  top  and  sides,  340  large  walnut  trees 
have  been  counted.  The  following  were  counted  by  Drury 
Smith  at  another  point:  Forty-seven  walnut  trees,  four  feet 
and  over;  seventy-eight,  three  feet  and  over;  one  hundred 


80  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

and  thirty-two,  two  feet  and  over,  and  one  hundred  and 
forty-eight  of  one  foot  and  over.  Two  trees  were  measured 
five  and  six  feet  respectively.  North-east  of  Wartburg,  on 
the  head  waters  of  the  Emory  river,  and  east  of  the  line  of 
railroad,  on  the  line  between  Morgan  and  Scott  counties,  there 
are  large  bodies  of  walnut  timber  in  the  coves  and  on  the 
northern  slopes.  The  soil  is  very  fertile,  but  so  much 
broken  as  to  preclude  cultivation.  It  would  make  excellent 
grazing  lands,  for  which  purpose  it  will  no  doubt  be  ulti- 
mately used.  The  coves  running  up  into  this  mountain 
are  very  fertile.  Even  upon  its  crest  farms  have  been 
opened,  and  the  soil  is  said  to  yield  generously,  producing 
even  more  than  the  soil  of  the  mountain-valleys  below. 
Chalybeate  springs  break  out  from  its  top. 

The  reader  should  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  these 
peaks,  or  ridges,  lie  upon  the  general  top  of  the  Cumber- 
land plateau — mountains  piled  upon  a  mountain. 

Lone  Mountain  rises  to  the  south-east  of  Wartburg,  four 
miles  distant.  Pilot  Mountain,  eight  miles  to  the  north- 
west, is  said  to  be  the  highest  point  in  the  vicinity.  East 
is  Chimney  Top,  nearly  as  high  as  Pilot  Mountain.  South- 
west, across  Emory  River,  is  Crab  Orchard  Mountain. 
This  range  of  mountains,  extending  south-west  into  Cum- 
berland county,  is  cut  into  three  unequal  parts  by  two  gaps. 
The  highest  peaks  of  this  mountain  is  1,000  feet  above  the 
general  level  of  the  table-land.  East  of  Wartburg  there 
is  a  considerable  area  of  mountain-valley  lands,  on  Mud 
Creek  and  Flat  Fork,  tributaries  to  Emory  river,  hemmed 
in  by  Ward's  Mountain  on  the  west  and  Brushy  Mountain 
on  the  east.  These  valleys  are  of  moderate  fertility,  and 
may  be  considered  highly  productive  for  mountain  lands. 
The  soil  is  frequently  water-soaked  and  white.  A  spur 
runs  down  into  this  valley  from  Ward's  Mountain  on  the 
north-west.  Flat  Fork  runs  at  the  western  foot  of  Brushy 
Mountain,   which   is    the  northern    prolongation   of  Lone 


Oincinnati  Southern  Raihoay.  81 

Mountain.  Brushy  Mountain  is  noted  for  the  excellence  of 
its  timber.  The  walnut  timber  was  so  abundant  on  its 
western  slope  that  it  was  used  for  making  fence  rails. 

Wartburg  was  settled  by  Germans  many  years  since. 
These  people  planted  out  large  orchards  and  vineyards. 
The  apple  trees  have  done  well,  and  bear  vigorously,  and 
the  finest  specimens  of  apples  may  be  found  here  of  any 
place  in  the  State.  Several  years  ago  the  apples  from  this 
place  took  the  premium  at  the  fair  at  Nashville. 

The  failure  of  the  grape  crop  has  had  a  depressing  effect 
upon  those  engaged  in  horticultural  pursuits.  Vineyards 
were  planted  with  the  expectation  of  manufacturing  wine, 
but  there  has  been  only  two  or  three  good  seasons  for  the 
grape  at  this  place  in  twenty  years.  It  is  quite  probable 
that  the  grape  would  do  well  u})on  the  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tain, while  it  would  prove  a  failure  in  the  intervenient 
valleys.  Peaches  fail  two  years  out  of  three.  Pears  do 
better.  The  smaller  fruits,  such  as  cherries,  gooseberries, 
and  strawberries,  are  said  to  be  more  certain  in  their  yield 
than  any  of  the  fruits  except  the  apple. 

Among  the  field  crops  rye  gives  the  most  generous  re- 
turns. The  usual  yield  is  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  bushels 
per  acre.  The  growing  of  Irish  potatoes  and  onions,  with 
proper  care  and  attention,  can  be  made  profitable.  Irish 
potatoes  are  a  staple  crop.  From  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  bushels  are  raised  per  acre.  Sweet  pota- 
toes are  not  extensively  cultivated,  and  will  not  com- 
pare in  excellence  with  the  Irish  potatoes.  Indian  corn, 
on  the  best  soils,  w^ll  make  from  fifteen  to  twenty  bushels 
per  acre ;  oats  about  the  same.  Very  little  wheat  is  grown 
— not  enough  for  home  consumption.  Rye  bread,  however, 
supplies  its  place  to  a  considerable  extent.  Hay  is  made 
from  timothy  and  herdsgrass.  The  yield  is  small.  Some- 
times the  wild  mountain  sedge  is  cut  and  cured  for  feeding 
cattle  in  winter. 
6 


82  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

The  yellow  mulatto,  clayey  and  gravelly  land  is  consid- 
ered the  most  productive.  It  is  found  in  mountain  sags 
and  coves,  and  on  northern  slopes. 

With  the  means  of  transportation  at  hand,  the  farmers 
of  Morgan  county  could  turn  many  things  to  profit  which 
are  now  neglected. 

The  trade  of  Wartburg  is  confined  to  a  very  few  arti- 
cles that  will  bear  transportation  over  the  rough  roads 
of  the  country.  Feathers,  beeswax,  ginseng,  wool,  and 
fruits,  constitute  the  principle  exports.  There  are  four  dry 
good  stores,  three  churches,  two  schools,  and  two  cabinet 
maker  shops  in  the  place. 

Some  excellent  coal  is  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place. 
Jones'  Bank,  lying  four  miles  east  of  the  town,  has  a  seam 
thirty-four  iiurhes  thick.  It  yields  a  very  fine  block  coal, 
the  best  I  have  met  with  anywhere.  The  seam  is  horizon- 
tal, and  crops  out  in  one  of  the  mountain  valleys.  The 
<'oal  from  this  place  supplies  the  demand  at  Wartburg. 
Coal  has  been  opened  at  several  other  places,  and  the  seams 
are  much  more  promising  here  than  those  near  the  railroad. 
And  this  is  generally  true  in  Morgan  and  Scott  counties. 

From  Triplett's  Gap  to  New  River. 

Triplett's  Gap  lies  on  the  railroad,  four  miles  north-west 
of  Wartburg.  The  country  between  the  places  is  level, 
with  a  sandy  soil,  and  a  good  growth  of  timber,  pine  and 
black  oak  predominating. 

At  Triplett's  Gap  a  commissary  department  was  kept  up, 
and  the  vegetables  exhibited,  all  grown  in  the  county  and 
on  the  table-land,  were  as  fine  as  can  be  seen  in  any 
market.  The  cabbage  showed  large,  compact  heads,  not 
excelled  by  any  brought  from  the  North.  The  onions  and 
Irish  potatoes,  also,  were  unsurpassed  by  those  grown  in 
any  country.  The  a])ples  were  plump,  round,  and  large — 
many  of  them  weighing  fifteen  ounces. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  83 

The  tunnel  at  Triplett's  Gap  is  cut  through  black  shale, 
filled  with  nodules  of  the  carbonate  of  iron,  so  abundant 
as  to  form  probably  an  eighth  of  the  muterial  removed. 
Just  above  Triplett's  Gap  a  considerable  pine  forest  sets  in 
on  both  sides  of  the  road,  and  continues  for  two  or  three 
miles.  This  gives  })lace  to  a  white  oak  forest,  which  is 
almost  unbroken  to  the  State  line.  The  forests  of  Avhite 
oak  are  of  peculiar  value.  The  timber  is  of  medium  size 
rives  easily,  but  is  very  heavy  and  close  grained.  Glades 
are  of  frequent  occurrence  on  each  side  of  the  road.  These 
glades  grow  wild  grasses  luxuriantly,  and  thousands  of 
sheep  can  be  kept  on  these  mountain  grasses  at  a  nominal 
cost.  This  part  of  the  table-land,  extending  from  Wart- 
burg  north,  greatly  resembles  Wales  in  aspect  and  in 
the  character  of  its  soil.  The  scenery  from  the  elevated 
peaks  has  great  picturesque  beauty,  and  will,  no  doubt,  in 
time,  attract  many  visitors.  It  will  also  be  the  home  of 
tlie  herdsman  ;  and  butter,  cheese,  wool,  beef,  mutton,  and 
fruit  will  form  no  inconsiderable  articles  of  export.  In 
Wales  the  Hereferd  cattle  are  prefered,  and  this  breed,  or 
tlie  Devon,  would  no  doubt  be  found  very  profitable  in  this 
rough  mountain  region. 

The  coal  exposures  on  the  line  of  the  road  from  Triplett's 
Gap  to  the  State  line  are  usually  thin  and  unimj)ortant.  -A 
seam  is  exposed  at  Tunnel  No.  17,  a  foot  or  more  thick. 
The  surface  above  this  tunnel  continues  for  some  miles, 
broken,  with  but  few  level  areas.  The  timber,  mainly 
white  oak,  increases  in  size  and  value — that  on  White  Oak 
creek  is  very  fine.  This  is  a  tributary  of  Board  Camp, 
which  empties  into  New  River  of  the  Cumberland.  The 
shales  above  White  Oak  creek  are  remarkable  for  their 
beautiful  violet  colors  and  micaceous  specks,  much  resem-. 
bling  the  metamorphic  slates  of  the  Ocoee  group.  This 
violet  shale  disiutegrates  less  rapidly  than  the  black.  Clay 
iron-stones  are  abundant  in  every  cut  through  the  shales. 


84  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

Black  Wolf  creek  is  in  Scott  county,  and  comes  from.-. 
the  west  side  of  the  railroad.  It  empties  in  Clear  Creek,  an 
affluent  of  New  lliver.  Upon  Black  Wolf  the  timber  is 
very  heavy.  Large  white  oaks  and  poplars  send  their  long 
columns  more  than  100  feet  into  the  air,  equalling  in  size 
the  princely  white  oaks  and  poplars  of  Obion  county,  in 
West  Tennessee.  The  soil  grows  better,  and  is  not  so  bro- 
ken. The  land  is  well  suited  for  the  production  of  tobacco,. 
and  eiforts  will  be  made  by  some  farmers  to  plant  largely 
of  this  crop. 

On  Black  Wolf  creek  some  good  seams  of  coal  have  been 
opened.  One  of  these  is  over  three  feet  thick.  Three 
miles  north  of  Black  Wolf  creek  the  country  becomes  very 
rugged,  and  New  River  is  approached  by  a  tunnel  2,580 
feet  long,  cut  through  gray  shale  and  sandstone.  New 
River  is  the  principal  tributary  of  Big  South  Fork  of  the 
Cumberland,  it  taking  the  latter  name  after  its  confluence 
with  Clear  Fork.  The  bridge  over  New  River,  with  via- 
ducts, will  be  1,300  feet  long,  and  125  feet  high.  There 
will  be  three  spans,  two  of  90  feet  each,  and  one  of  200  feet.. 
The  approaches  will  bo  made  by  iron  viaducts. 

Upon  the  plateau  lands,  to  the  north-west,  beech  trees 
are  quite  abundant — a  very  unusual  occurrence  upon  the 
table-land.  So  far  as  one  may  judge  of  the  character  of  the 
crops,  the  soil  might  be  considered  of  a  better  quality  than 
the  plateau  lands  on  other  parts  of  the  mountain.  Very 
little  sand  is  seen  A  yellow  clay  forms  the  subsoil,  and 
the  native  growth  denotes  considerable  fertility. 

New  River  supplies  some  valuable  water  privileges.; 
There  are  seven  or  eight  mills  situated  upon  it  within  Scott, 
county.  Its  tributaries — Buffalo,  Brimstone,  Clear  Creek,. 
Clear  Fork,  Phillips  Creek — all  furnish  more  or  less  avail- 
able sites  for  mills. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  85 

'HUNTSVILLE   AND   ViCINITY. 

Huntsville,  the  county  seat  of  Scott  county,  is  situated 
near  New  E-iver,  three  miles  east  of  the  line  of  railroad.  Tt 
has  a  jiopulation  of  about  80.  Its  business  is  very  small. 
Two  dry  goods  stores,  two  groceries,  one  blacksmith  shop, 
and  two  tave^rns,  constitute  nearly  all  the  business  houses. 
There  is  one  church,  and,  sometimes,  a  school. 

The  range  of  Jellico  Mountains  lies  on  the  north-east, 
and  Round  Mountain  on  the  South.  These  mountains  have 
a  soil  of  exuberant  fertility,  as  the  character  of  the  timber 
will  indicate.  Walnut,  poplar,  buckeye,  ash  and  locust,  are 
common.  The  locust  grows  near  the  top  of  these  billowy 
mountains,  walnut  in  the  coves,  and  poplar  on  the  northern 
slopes.  The  best  lands  in  the  county  are  found  upon  Jel- 
lico Creek,  whi«h,  rising  in  the  mountains  of  the  same 
name,  flows  northward  into  the  Cumberland.  The  bottoms 
on  Brimstone  are  quite  wide,  and  of  very  great  fertility* 
The  native  growth  of  these  bottoms  is  mainly  beech.  Buf- 
falo Creek  has  also  some  cultivable  bottoms,  as  also  Pine 
Creek.  The  lowlands,  lying  upon  New  River,  are  generally 
narrow,  but  fertile. 

The  northern  slopes  of  Jellico  Mountains  yield  some- 
times as  much  as  forty  to  fifty  bushels  of  corn,  fifteen  of 
wheat,  and  twenty  of  rye,  per  acre ;  producing  nearly  or 
quite  as  well  as  the  bottoms  upon  the  streams ;  but  the  fer- 
tility does  not  last,  as  it  is  impossible  to  prevent  washing 
on  the  sharp  slopes.  Next  to  the  bottoms  and  north  hill- 
sides, in  point  of  fertility,  the  swales  succeed.  The  soil  of 
the  swales  is  white  and  clammy,  but  produces  herds-grass 
and  millet  excellently  well.  A.  J.  C.  Bobbins,  a  railroad 
contractor  near  Huntsville,  has  made  some  experiments 
with  deep  culture.  On  mountain  lands,  by  the  application 
of  a  small  quantity  of  manure  and  deep  plowing,  he  made 
forty  bushels  of  corn  and  two  hundred  bushels  of  potatoes 
per  acre. 


86  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

Bull  Creek  and  Smoky  enter  New  River  from  the  north.. 
On  these  streams  Avalnut  trees  are  abundant,  many  of  them, 
measuring  three  feet  in  circumference.  The  county  east 
of  Huntsville  will  be  spoken  of  under  the  head  of  Knox- 
ville  and  Ohio  Railroad. 

Farming  lands  are  cheap  in  Scott  county,  and  a  drug  in 
the  market.  Good  average  farms,  improved,  are  worth 
from  five 'to  ten  dollars  per  acre;  unimproved  mountain- 
lands,  suitable  for  colonization,  from  fifty  cents  to  two  dol- 
lars per  acre.  Defects  in  titles  shoald  be  guarded  against. 
Unfortunately  for  this  mountain  region,  there  are  often  four 
or  five  grants  from  the  State  of  Tennessee  to  the  same 
tract. 

Around  Huntsville  several  valuable  coal  banks  have 
been  opened  for  local  uses.  One  of  these  is  a  little  north 
of  the  town,  and  the  coal  crops  out  in  a  swale  on  the  west 
side  of  a  considerable  elevation.  The  seam  is  three  feet 
thick,  and  the  coal  is  cubical,  hard,  and  very  pure.  Another 
bank  has  been  opened  on  Flat  Creek,  between  Huntsville 
and  the  railroad.  Flat  Greek  is  a  wet-weather  stream,  with 
a  high  sandstone  bluif  on  the  south  side.  It  has  its  drain- 
age in  New  River,  with  a  general  south-east  course.  The 
coal  crops  out  under  the  sandstone  bluif,  with  a  thick  bed  of 
shale  beneath.  It  is  three  feet  thick  generally,  but  the 
seam  is  variable.  It  is  also  a  block  coal,  but  crushed  at 
places.  Up  the  same  ravine,  three-quarters  of  a  mile.  Pot- 
ter's bank  has  been  opened.     It  is  the  same  seam. 

From  Huntsville  to  State  Line. 

The  scope  of  country  embraced  between  Huntsville  and 
Chitwood,  directly  north  and  west  of  the  former  place,  is 
not  so  rugged.  No  deep  cuts  are  found  on  the  railroad 
going  north  until  Flat  Gap  is  reached,  where  there  is  an 
excavation  fifty  feet  deep.  There  is  a  low  depression  also- 
between  the  head  waters  of  Pine  Creek  and  Bear  Creek,  both. 


Cincinnati  Southern  Raihcay.  87 

tributaries  of  South  Fork.  The  character  of  the  soil  and  tim- 
ber is  much  the  same  as  that  found  below  Huntsville.  Chit- 
wood  is  the  name  of  a  locality  three  miles  south  of  the  State 
line  lying  immediately  on  the  railroad.  North  and  west  of 
this  place  the  surface  is  deeply  cut  by  streams,  with  flat 
crested  ridges  between.  Towards  the  north-west  it  assumes 
more  of  a  plateau  character,  with  some  soils  of  more  than 
average  fertility.  This  plateau  land  extends  south-westerly 
to  New  River,  beyond  which  are  many  spurs  pointing  down 
to  the  river.  East  of  Chitwood  are  the  Jellico  Mountains, 
drained  by  Jellico  Creek,  Elk  Fork  and  Cove  C-reek — the 
latter  breaking  off  in  an  opposite  direction  into  the  waters 
of  the  Tennessee.  Pauncli  (-reek  flows  near  Chitwood,  and 
empties  into  South  Fork.  There  are  wide  bottoms  on  this 
stream,  but  the  soil  is  cold  and  clammy.  Nearly  all  these 
smaller  streams  go  dry  in  summer,  only  a  few  pools  remain- 
ing in  their  beds,  which,  however,  supply  good  stock  water, 
For  domestic  purposes  wells  are  resorted  to,  and  water  is 
always  found  at  a  moderate  depth,  pure  and  sparkling,  and 
generally  with  a  slight  chalybeate  taste. 

White  and  yellow  pine  are  abundant  on  Pine  Creek. 
Chinquapins,  chestnuts,  hickory  nuts,  several  varieties  of 
wild  grapes,  persimmons  and  blackberries  grow  in  profu- 
sion. 

From  Huntsville  to  Jamestown. 

Returning  now  to  a  point  on  the  railroad  opposite  Hunts- 
ville, and  passing  to  the  west  in  the  direction  of  Jamestown, 
the  county  seat  of  Fentress  county,  we  pass  over  numerous 
streams,  the  principal  ones  being  South  White  Oak,  North 
White  Oak  and  Clear  Fork.  The  latter  forms  a  junction 
with  New  River,  after  which  it  takes  the  name  of  South 
Fork  of  the  Cumberland.  The  country  becomes  very  level 
towards  Jamestown,  which  is  thirty-two  miles  east  of  Hunts- 
ville.    The  soil  is  sandy  and  thin,  but,  with  careful  culture, 


88  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

will  make  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  bushels  of  corn.  Large 
forest  of  yellow  pine  occur,  and  tar  and  turpentine  were  ex- 
tensively manufactured  before  the  war.  Many  fine  forests 
have  been  ruined  by  scalping  the  trees,  in  order  that  the 
crude  turpentine  might  exude.  Fires  are  of  frequent  occur- 
rence in  the  woods.  These  attack  the  combustable  exuda- 
tions upon  the  trees,  and  burn  out  great  hollow  places  in 
the  trunks,  destroying  their  value  as  timber  trees.  The 
highland  pasturage,  however,  by  reason  of  the  open  woods, 
is  excellent,  and  cattle  and  sheep  may  be  grown  at  a  very 
small  cost.  It  is  almost  impossible  for  a  farmer  to  regulate 
the  quantity  of  his  stock.  He  has  summer  pasturage  for 
unlimited  herds,  but  it  is  difficult  to  grow  provender  enough 
to  carry  them  through  the  winter.  Farmers  living  in  the 
rich  valleys  herd  their  cattle  upon  the  })lateau  of  the  moun- 
tain from  April  to  October,  when  they  are  carried  to  the 
valleys  and  wintered.  The  rearing  of  live  stock  is  the  only 
profitable  branch  of  agriculture  on  the  thin  mountain  lands. 
The  character  of  the  stock  is  beginning  to  be  improved. 
Some  Cotswold  and  Southdown  sheep  have  been  brought 
in,  also  a  few  Berkshire  hogs. 

Coal  is  found  in  many  places  around  Jamestown.  South- 
west of  this  place,  two  miles  in  Rockcastle  Cove,  there  is  a 
seam  four  feet  thick,  of  good  quality.  East  of  Jamestown, 
on  Crooked  Creek,  outcrops  of  coal  are  numerous.  On 
Buffalo  Cove  Creek  there  is  a  seam  exposed  three  to  four 
feet  thick.  Also  at  the  head  of  Buffalo  Cove  the  same 
seam  appears.  Near  the  head  of  East  Fork  some  very 
thick  seams  are  said  to  exist.  On  White  Oak,  at  Step's, 
an  outcrop  of  fine  block  coal  has  been  worked.  This  coal 
is  very  hard  and  beautiful.  Ten  miles  west  of  Jamestown 
there  is  an  oil  spring.  Another  similar  spring  is  found 
three  miles  higher  up.  There  is  no  question  but  petroleum 
could  be  found  in  any  quantity  by  boring;  and  when  the 
railroad  is  finished  this  branch  of  mining  will  receive  the 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  89 

attention  its  importance  demands.  Some  iron  ore  exists  in 
the  county,  and  also  a  coarse,  reddish  marble.  The  iron 
is  found  about  nine  miles  south  of  Jamestown. 

Jamestown,  the  county  seat,  is  on  the  "  divide  "  between 
Obey's  River,  on  the  west,  and  Clear  Fork,  on  the  south- 
east. It  has  three  stores,  two  groceries,  one  cabinet  shop, 
two  taverns,  and  two  schools. 

Fkom  Jamestown  to  Crossville. 

From  Jamestown  to  Crossville,  the  county  seat  of  Cum- 
berland county,  thirty-six  miles,  the  country  is  generally 
very  level.  As  elsewhere,  the  streams  all  flow  in  rocky 
"gulfs,"  or  gorges,  varying  in  width  and  depth  according 
to  the  size  of  the  stream.  Sometimes  these  gorges  are 
from  one  to  two  miles  wide,  showing  the  enormous  erosion 
which  has  taken  place  since  the  deposition  of  the  sandstone 
and  shaly  strata  that  make  up  the  mountain  mass.  The 
conglomerate  <:'ock  comes  very  near  the  surface.  The 
region  under  consideration  is  generally  a  flat  area,  thickly 
set  in  timber,  with  but  a  small  amount  of  cleared  land. 
The  principal  timber  for  eight  miles  south  of  Jamestown 
is  pine,  chestnut,  and  spotted  oak.  At  this  distance  the 
ravines  and  slopes  of  the  head  waters  of  Clear  Fork  begin. 
These  ravines  are  separated  from  one  another  by  long, 
winding  strips  of  plateau  lands.  The  slopes  are  clothed 
with  white  oak,  hickory,  chestnut  oak,  poplar,  and  dog- 
wood. Several  places  were  seen  on  the  plateau,  l)etween 
Jamestown  and  the  head  waters  of  Clear  Fork,  where  the 
chestnut  timber,  originally  very  large,  has  died  out  entirely. 
This  is  attributed  to  the  ravages  of  the  bore  worm.  At 
many  places  the  dead  trunks  were  standing  over  hundreds 
of  acres,  as  though  they  been  belted  by  the  axe  of  the 
woodman. 

Passing  the  ravines  going  south  we  ascend  the  great 
divide  between  the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland  rivers. 


90  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

The  old  stage  road  between  Knoxville  and  Nashville 
passed,  and  the  line  of  railroad  between  the  two  places  laid 
out,  on  the  crest  of  this  water-shed.  On  this  divide  there 
is  a  very  great  quantity  of  white  and  yellow  pine,  the  white 
pine  being  confined  to  the  small  creek  basins.  White  oak 
forests  are  also  met  with,  sometimes  continuing  for  miles. 
The  almost  total  absence  of  other  kinds  of  timber  in  these 
forests  is  a  little  remarkublr.  North  of  the  Nashville  and 
Knoxville  road,  and  west  of  ihe  railroad,  this  region,  as 
far  north  as  the  Huntsville  and  Jamestown  road,  and  as  far 
west  as  the  Jamestown  and  Crossville  road,  is  much  eut  up 
by  ravines  made  by  the  head  waters  of  Clear  Fork  and 
Emory  river.  The  timber  in  this  rough  region  is  very 
large.  Walnut,  white  pine,  white  oak,  yellow  poplar,  cherry,, 
and  buckeye  are  found  in  greater  or  less  quantities.  Pine 
Orchard  is  a  locality  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  civil  districts  of 
Morgan  county,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  west  of  the  railroad, 
and  on  the  head  waters  of  Little  Clear  Creek.  It  is  so 
called  from  the  large  quantities  of  valuable  pine  timber 
covering,  in  the  aggregate,  over  one  hundred  square  miles. 
Scarcely  any  other  trees  are  seen.  Many  of  the  pines  have 
trunks  seventy  or  eighty  feet  long  and  three  feet  in  diameter^ 
The  soil  in  Fentress  and  Cumberland  counties  is  more 
sandy  than  in  Scott  and  Morgan.  The  clayey  and  pro- 
ductive soils  are  met  with  on  the  north  hill-sides,  and  her^ 
the  patches  and  farms  are  opened.  The  plateau  lands, 
though  delightful  in  their  appearance,  are  shunned.  The 
consequence  is  that  but  few  farms  are  opened  on  the  high 
ways.  On  the  road  from  Jamestown  to  Crossville,  for  the 
distance  of  eighteen  miles,  there  are  only  four  houses  to  be 
seen.  And  yet  these  plateau  lands  are  well  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  fruit.  Wherever  an  orchard  has  been  planted, 
though  the  farm  may  have  been  abandoned,  yet  the  fruit 
trees  look  vigorous  and  bear  abundantly.  Apple  trees  are 
often   seen   in  old   fields   almost   breaking   down   with   the 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  91 

tempting  fruit.  Oats  and  vegetables  also  make  a  certain^ 
crop.  AVith  the  mountaineers,  however,  corn  is  the  great 
desideratum.  Their  daily  food  consists  of  mast-fed  bacon 
and  corn  bread.  Wherever,  therefore,  they  can  make  su}>- 
plies  of  corn  they  go,  even  though  it  be  inaccessible  for 
wheeled  vehicles.  Some  of  the  plateau  land,  where  a 
heavy  turf  has  been  formed,  produces  corn  the  second  and 
third  years  after  being  opened — the  corn  plant  being  fed 
by  the  decaying  turf.  After  the  third  year  no  reliance  can 
be  placed  on  it  for  that  purpose,  the  fertilizing  matter 
filtering  down  through  the  porous  sand.  The  northern 
exposures  of  the  ravines  often  produce  twenty-five  bushels 
of  corn  per  acre;  rye,  ten  bushels.  Potatoes  are  not  more 
productive  here  than  on  the  plateau  lands.  They  are 
usually  grown  upon  manured  lots  near  the  dwellings,  and. 
the  yield  is  sometimes  incredible. 

Clear  Creek  of  Obed's  river,  makes  a  wide  deep  cut  in. 
the  Table-land.  Beyond  this,  going  south,  are  open  woods, 
small  timber,  but  standing  thickly  upon  the  ground  ;  black, 
oak  mainly.  The  principal  crops  grown  on  the  plateau 
are  buckwheat,  sorghum,  and  oats.  The  grazing  privileges, 
are  unexcelled.  No  calacanthus,  ivy,  or  other  poisonous- 
shrub  is  seen.  Chestnut  timber  is  very  scarce,  the  older 
trees  having  died  out  and  the  smaller  ones  killed  by  the 
annual  fires.  There  are  many  hickory  glades.  Crossing 
Obed's  river,  a  tributary  of  the  Emory,  four  miles  north  of 
Crossville,  we  come  upon  a  thinly  wooded  region,  abound- 
ing in  wild  grasses  and  excellent  water.  This  would  he 
an  admirable  place  for  herding  cattle  during  the  summer. 
This  thinly  wooded  region  covers  here  several  hundred' 
square  miles,  and  extends  south  of  Crossville  eight  or  nine 
miles.  Scrubby  blackjacks  and  small  postoaks  constitute 
the  principal  trees. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  every  stream  in  this  region,, 
which  furrows  its  way  to  the  lower  strata,  exposes  seams  o€ 


'92  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

coal.  There  is  coal  on  Meadow  Creek,  Laurel  Creek,  Potts 
Creek,  Drawing  Creek,  No  Business,  Clear  Creek,  and 
numerous  others.  Brown's  bank  and  Andrews'  bank  have 
been  opened  on  Laurel  Creek,  a  tributary  to  Caney  Fork. 
The  coal  for  the  blacksmiths  shops  in  Crossville  is  obtained 
from  this  place.  It  is  a  hard  block  coal,  and  looks  well. 
Eleven  miles  south  of  Crossville  occurs  a  curious  depres- 
sion on  the  Table-land,  known  as 

Grassy  Cove. 

This  depression  is  about  four  miles  long,  and  contains 
about  5,000  acres.  It  lies  on  a  line  with  Sequatchee  Valley, 
and  the  coal  measures  have  been  eroded  and  washed  away 
down  to  the  limestone  of  the  subcarboniferous.  The  cove 
is  depressed  three  hundred  feet  below  the  average  elevation 
of  the  table-land.  Tlie  soil  is  limestone  and  fertile. 
There  are  about  forty  families  living  in  this  cove.  This 
remarkable  indentation  is  in  the  fold  of  Crab  Orchard 
Mountain,  which  lies  between  Emory  river  and  the  head  of 
Sequatchee  Valley.  As  before  mentioned,  it  is  cut  into 
three  unequal  parts  by  Crab  Orchard  Gap  and  Grassy 
Cove.  At  Crab  Orchard  Gap,  iiorth-east  of  Grassy  Cove, 
the  severance  is  complete,  leaving  room  for  an  extensive 
farm  between  the  abutting  ends,  while  at  Grassy  Cove 
there  is  a  wearing  away  of  the  strata  so  as  to  make  a  deep 
broad  depression.  The  Crab  Orchard  Mountain,  resuming 
its  course  at  the  south-western  extremity  of  the  cove,  con- 
tinues in  a  direct  line  to  the  head  of  Sequatchee  Valley. 
The  strata  of  the  table-land  are  horizontal,  or  approxi- 
mately so,  at  its  western  end,  but  as  one  approaches  toward 
the  east  they  lose  their  horizontality  in  part,  and  are  found 
crowded  into  folds.  The  first  important  fold  is  Crab 
Orchard  Mountain.  It  is,  indeed,  the  same  fold  that  pro- 
duced Sequatchee  Valley,  only  it  was  not  broken  open  on 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  93 

the  back.  In  the  highest  part  of  this  mountain  the  fold 
rises  seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  general  level  of 
the  table-land,  the  strata  of  the  mountain  forming  an  arch. 
By  this  means  limestone  in  places  has  been  brought  on  a 
a  level  with  the  table-land.  The  water  from  Grassy  Cove 
collects  in  Grassy  Cove  creek,  which  finds  its  way  under 
the  mountain,  by  a  subterraneous  passage  to  the  head  of 
Sequatchee  Valley,  a  distance  of  four  or  live  miles.  This 
stream  has  a  sufficient  volume  of  water  to  drive  a  mill. 
This  cove  constitutes  the  best  area  of  farming  lands  to  be 
found  in  Cumberland  county.  Stock  raising  is  carried  on 
to  a  considerable  extent.  Mr.  Richard  Marston,  of  En- 
gland, is  engaged  here  in  breeding  Shropshire-down  sheep, 
and  Mr.  Stratton  in  raising  Devon  cattle.  The  latter 
gentleman  has  been  experimenting  with  grade  Angora 
goats,  and  finds  them  quite  profitable.  They  live  through- 
out the  year  upon  the  shrubs  that  grow  on  the  mountain 
slopes.  He  estimates  the  cost  of  the  flesh  not  to  exceed 
one  cent  per  pound.  He  raised  seventy-five  kids  with  less 
trouble  and  expense  than  an  equal  number  of  chickens. 

One  of  the  finest  presentations  of  coal  in  the  State  is  to 
be  seen  four  miles  south-east  of  Grassy  Cove,  on  the  head 
waters  of  White's  creek,  and  about  eight  miles  west  of  the 
line  of  road.  This  coal  bank  is  in  Cumberland  county, 
and  is  known  as  McCall's  bank.  It  is  eleven  feet  thick, 
with  a  horizontal  bed  of  shale  above.  The  coal  shows 
some  disturbance.  Occasionally  masses  of  shale  are  found 
imbedded  in  the  seam.  The  coal  rests  upon  a  bed  of  fire- 
clay, the  thickness  of  which  could  not  be  determined  with- 
out considerable  expense..  The  coal  much  resembles  the 
Rockwood  in  appearance  and  general  structure,  though  it 
is  some  harder,  and  will  bear  shipping  with  less  loss.  The 
seom  outcrops  192  feet  below  the  road  on  the  top  of 
Walden's  Ridge. 

Swaggerty's  Cove  is   another   indentation   in   the    Crab 


94  Resource  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

Orchard  fold  between  Grassy  Cove  and  the  head  of 
Seqiiatchee  Valley.  On  the  slopes  of  the  mountain  sur- 
rounding this  cove  is  as  large  timber  as  can  be  found  in  the 
State.  It  would  be  very  valuable  if  not  so  difficult  of 
access. 

Passing  over  another  ridge,  we  enter  Seqaatchee  Valley 
This  remarkable  valley  is  about  seventy  miles  long  and  four, 
miles  wide,  and  is  rich  in  agricultural  and  mineral  wealth. 
The  Knox  grou[)  forms  the  centre  of  the  valley,  with  the 
Trenton  rocks  in  strips  on  east  side.  The  Dyestone  group 
and  mountain  limestone  hug  the  mountain  escarpments. 
On  the  east  side  of  the  valley  there  is  almost  an  unbroken 
seam  of  dyestone  ore,  varying  from  one  to  six  feet  thick. 
"Great  beds  of  calc  spar  also  occur  on  the  same  side.  On 
the  opposite  or  western  side  of  the  valley,  coal  is  found  up 
every  notch  in  the  mountain.  Through  the  centre  of  the 
valley,  which  will  average  about  four  miles  in  width,  the 
Sequatchee  river  flows,  supplying  sufficient  water  power  for 
all  economical  purposes.  Here,  within  a  limited  area,  are 
found  three  of  the  greatest  levers  of  human  civilization — 
fertile  lands,  coal  and  iron.  Here  can  be  united  in  the 
most  profitable  relations,  and  on  the  most  extensive  scale, 
the  producer  and  consumer.  A  great  system  of  manufac- 
turing industry  should  spring  up  in  this  valley,  compelling 
the  raw  material  to  serve  the  })urposes  of  commerce,  and 
contribute  to  the  wealth  and  greatness  of  the  State.  At 
present,  under  the  stimulating  effiicts  of  an  English  com- 
pany, a  railroad  is  being  built  by  the  Nashville  and  Chatta- 
nooga Railroad  Company,  up  the  valley,  from  Jasper,  at  its 
foot,  to  the  Victoria  mines,  a  distance  of  eight  miles.  This 
road  will  convey  coal  to  the  works  at  South  Pittsburg, 
where  (piite  an  extensive  town  is  laid  out,  and  foundations 
for  furnaces  laid.  Everything  is  done  in  the  very  best 
style. 

The  productiveness  of  the  soil  of  this  valley  is  well  known. 


Cincinnati  South&rn  Raihoay.  95 

Here  all  the  cereals  and  grasses  find  a  congenial  home ;  and 
the  large  number  of  hogs  and  cattle  annually  driven  out  to 
Chattanooga  and  other  points,  justify  the  assertion  that  no 
better  farming  lands  are  to  be  found  in  the  State.  It  is  es- 
timated that  3,000  beef  cattle  and  12,000  hogs  are  annually 
fattened  and  driven  out  this  valley. 

With  a  railroad  running  up  to  the  head  of  this  valley, 
and  passing  over  Walden's  Ridge  to  connect  with  the  Cin- 
cinnati Southern,  the  lower  half  of  our  coal  field  will  be 
ribboned  with  railway  lines,  from  which  arms  may  be  thrown 
•out,  and  the  entire  southern  half  of  the  coal  field  made  avail- 
able to  our  people  and  profitable  to  the  State.  At  present 
these  coal  fields  add  but  little  to  the  revenue  of  the  State, 
being  assessed  at  from  ten  to  fifty  cents  per  acre.  With 
})roper  exertion  on  the  part  of  our  people,  both  in  their  cor- 
porate and  individual  capacity,  these  lands  may  yet  pay  off 
tlie  State  debt  by  increased  valuation.  In  Indiana,  such 
hinds  as  these  roads  will  open,  are  rated  at  from  one  hundred 
to  three  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  and  capital  from  various 
parts  of  the  country  have  been  attracted  thither  for  profita- 
ble investment.  In  Pennsylvania,  lands  in  the  same  coal 
field,  with  the  identical  seams,  sell  for  as  much  as  one  thous- 
and dollars  per  acre.  In  tlie  State  of  Tennessee,  although 
tlie  coal  lies  contiguous  to  iron  ore  of  first-rate  quality,  ten 
dollars  per  acre  for  coal  lands  would  be  ponsidered  an  exor- 
bitant price.  With  the  oj)ening  of  these  railroads,  and  a 
proper  presentation  of  the  resources  that  lie  on  these  routes, 
it  is  to  be  expected  that  these  lands  will  command  such  a 
price  as  their  inherent  value  justifies. 

South  of  Tennessee  River. 

Walden's  Ridge,  south  of  the  Tennessee  River,  takes  the 
name  of  Racoon  Mountain.  Here  the  mountain  is  much 
cut  up  by  deep  ravines,  and  its  continuity  is  almost  de- 


96  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

stroyed.  Nevertheless,  some  good  coal  seams,  both  on  the 
upper  and  lower  coal  measures,  are  found  on  this  side  of  the 
river.  The  principal  mines  opened  are  the  ^Etna  and  Vul- 
can, both  lying  in  Marion  county,  on  the  Nashville  and 
Chattanooga  Railroad ;  the  first  about  thirteen  miles  west 
of  Chattanooga,  and  the  latter  sixteen.  Battle  Creek  mines- 
are  on  the  Jasper  branch  of  the  same  road,  and  the  produc- 
tion of  coal  amounts  to  19,500  bushels  per  month. 

^TNA  Mines. 

Kaccoon  Mountain,  in  which  these  mines  are  opened^ 
rises  about  800  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  Nashville  and 
Chattanooga  Railroad.  Upon  its  top  is  a  plateau  with  a 
superimposed  ridge,  which  contains  two  seams  of  coal.  The 
section  as  given  on  pages  98  and  99  will  show  the  various 
seams  at  this  place,  with  their  thickness,  and  the  thickness 
of  other  strata. 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  five  seams  below  the  lower 
conglomerate,  two  between  the  upper  and  lower  conglom- 
erate, and  three  in  the  upper  coal  measures.  The  first  seam 
from  the  bottom  has  never  been  worked.  The  second, 
known  as  the  Mill  Creek  seam,  is  opened  on  the  right  of 
Mill  Creek,  about  one  mile  from  the  railroad.  The  thick- 
ness of  the  coal  varies  from  two  to  three  feet.  The  coal  is 
laminate  and  lustreless.  The  entry  has  been  driven  in  about 
700  feet,  fifty-four  degrees  west  of  north.  Below  the  coal 
occurs  a  black  shale.  The  coal  and  shale  often  run  inta 
and  intertwist  with  each  other  in  wavy  lines,  sometimes 
one  and  then  the  other  disappearing.  Below  the  shale  are 
ripple-marked  flagstones  and  sandy  shales,  with  nodules  of 
clay  iron-stones.  In  some  places  in  this  entry  the  upper 
surface  is  horizontal,  and  six  or  eight  inches  of  good  block 
coal  lies  against  the  roof.  Below  this  the  coal  is  more 
shelly  and  soft,  with  a  contorted  lamination.     In  a  cross 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway. 


97 


entry,  running  north  and  south,  which  has  been  driven  to 
the  right,  is  seen  a  great  wall  of  shale  that  crosses  the  entry 
at  an  angle  of  about  twenty  degrees.  The  roof  in  this  entry 
has  an  arched  appearance  in  places,  and  at  others  is  wavy 
and  irregular,  with  convexities.  The  bottom  is  generally 
smooth. 

Cross  entries  are  made  on  each  side  of  the  main  entry  al- 
ternately, 150  feet  apart.  A  block  of  coal,  27  feet  wide  is 
left  on  each  side  of  the  main  entry  to  support  the  roof. 
Rooms  are  turned  every  nine  yards  from   the  cross  entries. 


Horizontal  Plan  of  JFAnn  Mines— Kelly  Seam. 

The  Kelly  seam,  the  seventh  from  the  bottom  and  the 
third  from  the  top,  has  been  opened  about  two  feet  above 
the  railroad.  It  has  been  more  extensively  worked  than 
all  the  others  combined.  About  twenty  acres  of  coal  have 
been  taken  out.  This  is,  doubtless,  the  equivalent  of  the 
Sewanee ;  at  least  it  occurs  about  the  same  horizon.  The 
7 


98 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


Total  in  Section. 

Ft.  &  In. 


Matkrials. 


116 


167 


214 


298 


391 


Surface. 


Ft. 


In. 


Sandstone.. 


11 


11 


5^     11 


557 


11 


Shaly  Sandstone.. 
COAL-Oak  Hill. 


Shale  and  Thin  Coal. 
COAL-Slate  Vein.... 


Z^   Shale. 


,1  COAL— Kelly  Coal. 
-!  Fire  Clay , 


UPPER  CONGLOMERATE 

(Simply  a  Sandstone.) 


5         6 


32 

0 

4 

0 

46 

0 

566 

6 

44 

9 

2 
1 

8 
6 

COAL 

Yellow  Sandy  Shale . 


Gray  Shale. 
COAL 


Gray  Sandy  Shale 


LOWER  CONGLOMERATE 
(ClififRocki) 


COAL— Main  .Etna 

Fire  Cliiy 

Shale,  re.ifinbling  Hickory  Bark.... 
COAL 


Gray  Shale. 


82 

0 

45 

47 
0 

45 
95 


2  to  5 

2 
20 
0 


10 


Oincinnati  Southern  Railway. 


9J) 


Total. 


Section. 


CONTINUKD. 


Ft. 


653 
676 


756 


868 


Gray  Shale 95 

COAL .' •. '  0 

Black  Shale 20 

COAL— Mill  Creek  vein [  2 

Fire  Clay j  3 

Shale  with  nodules  of  Cai^onate  of  Iron ;  40 


Gray  Shale. 


COAL— Lowest  Bed . 
Fire  Clay 


Shales  and  Shaly  Sandstone. 


Limestone. 


109 


In. 


«eam  is  continuous,  and  varies  in  thickness  from  twenty  to 
forty-eight  inches.  At  the  distance  of  six  hundred  yards 
in  the  mines  a  basin  occurs  in  the  coal  seam,  which  covers 
probably  six  acres.  Towards  this  basin  the  coal  inclines, 
and  increases  in  thickness.  The  water  interferes  so  much, 
that  the  coal  from  this  basin  will  have  to  be  worked  from  a 
perpendicular  shaft.  The  mine  is  drained  by  a  pump ;  ca- 
pacity forty  gallons  per  minute. 

The  coal,  when  taken  from  the  Kelly  mine  has  no  supe- 
rior in  the  State.  It  shows  a  fibrous  structure  across  the 
plane  of  lamination.  The  laminse  are  often  separated  by 
seams  of  mineral  charcoal.  The  coal  is  very  pure,  burning 
with  a  brilliant  glow,  and  making  an  intense  heat,  leaving 
^s  a  residum  about  two-and-a-half  per  cent,  of  fawn-colored 


100  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

ash.    The  following  analysis  of  this  coal  was  made  by  Julius 
G.  Pohle,  ofNew  York: 

Volatile  and  bituminous  matter 21.39 

Carbon  in  coke 74.20 

Sulpbur 70 

Ash — fawn  color ••    2.70 

Moisture , 1.30 

99.99 
Specific  gravity 1.281 

Dr.  Pohle  says : 

•^Thecpal  is  well  adapted  to  gas-making  so  far  as  the 
quality  of  the  bituminous,  matter  is  concerned,  but  the  quan- 
tity is  not  so  great  as  the  coal  usually  used  for  that  purpose, 
which  latter  usually  yields  from  forty  to  fifty  per  cent,  of 
volatile  matter." 

About  130  men  are  employed  in  these  mines,  fifty  of 
whom  are  miners.  When  employed  by  the  day.  the  miners 
receive  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  Usually  the  coal  is 
mined  at  a  price  depending  upon  the  thickness  of  the  seam, 
varying,  however,  from  sixty-five  cents  to  one  dollar  and 
twenty  cents  per  ton.  Common  laborers  are  paid  per  day 
one  dollar.  The  driving  of  entries  is  let  tu  the  highest  bid- 
der, but  the  coal  taken  out  is  paid  for  separately. 

The  coal  is  brought  down  from  the  mountain  to  the 
Nashville  and  Chattanooga  Railroad  by  three  inclines : 

First — One  thousand  feet  of  track,  nearly  level,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Kelly  mine  to  the  head  of  a  steep  incline. 

Second — A  gravity  plane,  3,500  feet  long,  running  from 
the  termination  of  the  first  to  a  stationary  engine  on  Mill 
Creek. 

Third — A  track  extending  from  Mill  Creek  to  the  screens 
on  the  railroad,  3,700  feet  long,  A  steel  cable  is  used  in 
letting  down  and  drawing  up  the  cars. 

The  facilities  for  loading  cars  at  the  railroad  are  very 
great.     There  are  numerous  shoots  with  screens,  having  au 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  101 

aggregate  capacity  of  500  tons  per  day.  For  furnishing 
locomotives  an  ingenious  contrivance  has  been  perfected  by 
which  trains  are  stopped  but  a  few  seconds,  the  coal  being 
weighed  in  lots  of  fifty  bushels,  and  shipped  into  the  ten- 
ders from  a  shaft  by  lever  action. 

There  are  eighty-three  coke  ovens,  having  a  capacity  of 
1,500  bushels  per  day,  though  the  actual  amount  of  coke 
made  rarely  exceed  half  that  amount.  One  hundred  bush- 
els of  coal  will  make  one  hundred  and  twenty  bushels  of 
coke.  The  coke  is  very  hard,  and  will  bear  up  any  weight 
desired.  It  is  mainly  used  in  foundries,  and  brings  from 
fifteen  to  seventeen  cents  per  bushel.  Bartow  Furnace,  in 
Georgia,  is  supplied  with  coke  from  this  place.  The  coal 
taken  from  these  mines  brings  a  higher  price  than  any  other 
mined  in  the  State.  Lump  coal,  loaded  on  the  cars,  sells  for 
12  cents  per,  bushel;  fine  coal,  for  blacksmith  purposes, 
12|^  cents;  run  of  the  mines,  11  cents.  The  coke  and  coal 
from  these  mines  are  shipped  to  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis, 
Louisville,  and  even  as  far  as  Texas.  Xhe  New  Orleans, 
St.  Louis  and  Chicago  Railroad  takes  ten  car  loads  per 
month  for  their  shops.  The  coal  taken  from  the  Mill  Creek 
seam  makes  a  coke  much  inferior  to  that  taken  from  the 
Kelly  seam  above.  A  considerable  amount  of  coal  from 
the  Kelly  seam  is  used  for  gas  at  Chattanooga,  Huntsville, 
Atlanta,  and  Augusta. 

A  little  village  has  been  built  up  near  the  railroad ;  and 
upon  the  plateau  above,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kelly  mine, 
some  forty  houses  have  been  erected  for  miners.  They  are 
-rented  from  one  to  three  dollars  per  month. 


102  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

The  following  table  will  show  the  shipments  for  the  year: 
ending  August  31 : 

SHIPMENTS   OF   COAL   FKOM  ^TNA   MINES  FROM  SEPT.  1,  1875,  TO  AUG.  31^ 

1876,  iNCLTJsrv'E. 

1875.  Bush. 

September 59,346 

October   53,668 

November 51,642 

December 53,935 

1876. 

January 25,800 

February 34,691 

March' 55,346 

April 33,921 

May 36,714 

June 42,820 

July 39,571 

August 56,133 

$543,587 

Vulcan  Mines. 

These  mines  have  been  opened  in  the  northern  extensioi> 
of  Sand  Mountain,  seventeen  miles  west  of  Chattanooga, 
immediately  on  the  line  of  the  Nashville  and  Chattanooga 
Railroad.  They  are  owned  and  operated  by  the  Bartow 
Iron  Company,  of  Georgia.  A  tramway  1,400  feet  long 
brings  the  coal  down  to  the  railroad.  Thirty  coke  ovens 
have  been  constructed,  but  only  six  are  in  repair. 

The  lower  seam  worked  at  this  place  corresponds  with 
the  Mill  Creek  seam  at  the  ^Etna  mines.  This  seam  here 
varies  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to  five  and  a  half  feet. 
The  thick  coal  usually  occurs  after  a  "  squeeze."  The 
strata  here  are  very  irregular,  occurring  in  rolls  andhorse- 
backs.  The  coal  lies  between  strata  of  black  shale  very 
hard.  The  shale  is  highly  bituminous,  and  miich  of  it  will 
burn  as  well  as  peat.  Below  the  underlying  black  shale  is 
a  hard  sandy  shale.  This  coal  is  irregular  in  its  structure. 
At  the  top  and  bottom  it  is  very  hard,  but  in  the  center  of 


Cincinnati  Southern  Railway.  103 

the  seam  it  frequently  exhibits  a  crushed  appearance,  the 
laminae  showing  wrinkles.  Where  squeezes  occur  a  thin 
seam  is  generally  left,  which  serves  as  a  guide.  These 
squeezes  rarely  extend  more  than  ten  yards  when  going  at 
right  angles  to  it.  The  coal  is  often  mixed,  in  consequence 
of  these  squeezes,  with  the  overlying  shale.  Sometimes 
this  shale  is  interstratified  with  the  coal,  especially  where 
the  coal  is  thick.  The  further  the  entry  is  driven  in  the 
mountain  the  thicker  the  coal.  The  average  of  eight 
measurements  of  the  seam  is  3|^  feet.  The  top  of  this  mine 
is  not  very  good.  This  seam  is  worked  altogether  by  con- 
victs, and  the  estimated  cost  of  mining  is  between  fifiy  and 
sixty  cents  per  ton  of  twenty-eight  bushels. 

The  iEtna  seam  above  the  fourth  from  bottom,  in  the 
^^tna  mines,  has  been  worked  for  many  years.  It 
was  formerly  worked  at  the  ^T^tna  mines,  but  is  now 
abandoned  at  that  place.  This  has  a  wide  spread  under 
the  lower  conglomerate,  or  clifF  rock.  It  is  very  irregular 
in  thickness,  varying  from  sixteen  inches  to  four  feet; 
occasionally  sinking  to  a  few  inches.  The  coal  has  seams 
of  mineral  charcoal  between  its  laminre.  It  is  a  good  lump 
coal,  and  is  used  in  gas  works  and  for  blacksmith  purposes. 
The  seam  will  average  prol)ably  twenty-two  inches  in 
thickness.  For  digging,  eighty  cents,  ninety  cents,  and 
one  dollar,  is  paid  per  ton.  The  first  price  for  digging 
where  the  seam  is  two  feet  and  over;  the  second  for  twenty- 
two  inches  and  over,  and  the  third  where  the  seam  falls 
below  twenty-two  inches.  Only  free  labor  is  employed  in 
working  this  coal.  The  quantity  now  taken  out  does  not 
exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty  bushels  per  day.  The  coke 
made  from  this  coal  is  very  pure,  and  sells  for  fifteen  cents 
per  bushel.  That  made  from  the  lower  seam  is  rough,  full 
of  shaly  material,  and  very  inferior. 

About  sixty-four  men  are  employed  at  the  Vulcan  mines, 
forty-one  of  whom  are  convicts. 


104 


Besources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


The  nnintity  of  coal  and  coke  mined  and  shipped  from 
these  mines  for  the  year  ending  Aug.  31,  1876,  was  305,280 
bushels.  Of  this  less  than  one-tenth  was  coke.  The  coal 
from  the  upper,  or  ^Etna  seam,  sells  for  11^^  to  12^^  cents 
per  bushel ;  that  from  the  lower  sefcm  from  8  to  9  rents. 
The  average  daily  production  to  the  man  employed,  is 
forty-eight  bushels. 

The  Kelly  seam,  and  the  two  above,  as  shown  in  the 
^Etna  section,  are  wanting  at  this  place. 


KnoxviUe  and  Ohio  Railroad.  105 


KNOXVILLE  AND  OHIO   RAILROAD  SECTION. 

\Ye  now  propose  to  direct  attention  to  a  portion  of  the 
Tennessee  coal  and  iron  fields  that  are  in  rapid  process  of 
development,  which  a  connecting  link  with  the  Cincinnati 
Southern  Railroad,  by  way  of  jNIorrowville  and  Poteet 
Gap,  will  immensely  hasten. 

The  KnoxviUe  and  Ohio  Railroad  takes  the  general 
direction  of  north-west  from  KnoxviUe  to  Careyville,  in 
Campbell  county,  and  has  been  completed  to  that  point,  a 
distance  of  thirty-eight  miles.  The  road  has  been  graded 
for  eight  miles  further,  to  a  point  near  Morrowville  (Buck- 
eye Tavern).  A  preliminary  survey  was  made  from  this 
point  to  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad,  by  Major  Ernest 
Ruhl,  and  submitted  to  Col.  C.  M.  McGhee,  President  of 
the  KnoxviUe  and  Ohio  Railroad.  This  report  contains  so 
much  information  in  regard  to  the  topography  of  the 
country  between  the  two  roads,  and  is  of  such  general 
interest,  that  I  give  its  more  important  parts,  as  well  as  the 
estimates  given  for  the  construction  of  the  connecting  link 
by  several  routes : 

The  main  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  connection,  says  Major  Euhl,  in 
his  report,  is  the  problem  of  overcoming  the  divide  between  the  waters  of 
Tennessee  and  Cumberland  rivers.  In  my  opinion  there  is  only  one  feas- 
ible point  where  this  can  be  accomplished,  and  this  is  Poteet's  Gap.  The 
balance  is  comparatively  light  work  for  a  road  through  such  a  mountain- 
ous country. 

The  point  of  divergence  from  the  KnoxviUe  and  Ohio  Railroad,  form- 
erly located  through  Elk  Gap,  would  be  at  tlie  confluence  of  the  two 
main  prongs  of  Cove  Creek;  one  heading  at  Elk  Gap  and  the  other  at 
Poteet's  Gap,  a  place  known  by  the  name  of  Buck-eye  Tavern  (Morow- 
ville). 

The  country  north-west  from  Buck-eye  Tavern  consists  of  several 
chains  of  high  mountains — Buflalo,  Jellico,  and  Beach  mountains — caus- 


106  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

ing  a  direct  line  from  Biick-eye  Tavern  to  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Kail- 
way  to  be  infeasible,  as  it  would  require  one  continuous  tunnel  with  an 
occasional  gap  for  ventilation.  It  may,  therefore,  be  assumed  as  a  fact 
that  any  connecting  line  between  the  Knoxville  and  Ohio  road  and  the 
Cincinnati  Southern  has  to  take  the  route  through  Poteet's  Gap. 

The  main  difficulty  about  Poteet's  Gap  is  the  fact  that  there  is  no- 
valley,  not  even  a  ravine,  heading  at  the  west  side  of  it ;  that  the  line  has 
to  cross  the  valley  of  Straight  VovV  about  half  a  mile  west  from  the  sum. 
mit,  and  that  the  difference  in  elevntion  between  the  gap  and  the  valley 
is  three  hundred  and  forty  feet. 

A  line  was  run  from  Poteet's  Gap  about  one  mile  up  Straight  Fork* 
thence  crossing  the  valley,  down  again  on  the  west  side,  for  the  purpose  o 
increasing  distance,  thus  to  be  enabled  to  overcome  part  of  difference  in 
elevation  by  grade.  The  idea  was  abandoned  because  the  work  require^ 
for  construction  proved  to  be  heavy ;  but  principally  on  account  of  the 
narrowness  of  the  valley,  necessitating  a  semicircular  curve  of  less  radius 
than  is  permissible  on  a  safe  railroad. 

There  are  two  ways  of  overcoming  the  difficulty  in  the  line  through 
Poteet's  Gap  and  the  immediate  crossing  of  the  adjoining  valley  of 
Straight  Fork.  One  is  by  a  tunnel  of  about  four  thousand  feet  in  length 
and  an  embankment  fifty  feet  high  for  four  hundred  feet  in  length,  thence 
from  fifty  feet  in  height  decreasing  gradually  to  nothing  !■>  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  distance  on  each  side  of  the  short  high  till.  The  other 
method  is  by  a  tunnel  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  feet  in  length  and 
iron  trestle  work  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  for  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  length,  thence  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height 
decreasing  to  forty  feet  in  height  in  ;i  hout  five  hundred  feet  distance  on 
each  side  of  the  highest  part  of  the  strncture,  thus  aggregating  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  iron  trestle. 

The  relative  cost  of  the  two  proposed  plans  is  about: 
4,000  feet  tunnel  in  soft  material,  13J  cubic  vards  per 

linear  feet,  at  $2i  per  cubic  vard '. $135,000 

1,333,333  feet  B.  M.  timber  at  $35  per  1,000 46,666 

Packing  5,334 

Total  for  tunnel  4.000  feet  long $187,000 

Adjacent  embankment  70,000  cubic  yards  barrow,  at 

30  cents  per  cubic  yard 21,000 

Total $208,000 

Iron  trestle  1,450  feet  long $100,000 

1,200  cubic  yards  dimension  mass 18,000 

Iron  trestle $118,000 

Tunnel  1,800  feet  long 84,000 

Total $202,000 


S  T  AT    E 


«  -    J  J  J'    ' 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  107 

The  difference  in  elevation  of  grade  between  the  two  lines  being  one 
hundred  and  two  feet,  the  lower  line  will  decrease  the  work  west  of  crossing 
of  Straight  Fork  over  the  higher  one  to  a  larger  amount  than  the  dift'er- 
ence  in  cost  between  the  long  tunnel  and  the  high  trestle  with  short  tun- 
nel will  come  to. 

But  there  is  no  necessity  of  executing  immediately  either  of  the  above 
proposed  plans,  as  a  temporary  track  might  be  constructed  on  a  grade 
sixty-six  feet  to  the  mile  at  a  reasonable  cost,  thus  getting  the  road  in 
running  order  without  being  delayed  by  any  tunnel,  as  the  balance  of  the 
road  can  be  built  and  operated  in  less  than  twelve  months  from  the  time 
of  breaking  ground.  It  would  likewise  defer  the  expenditure  of  a  large 
sum  until  the  road  is  able  to  sustain  itself  and  pay  for  its  improvements- 
For  temporary  track  there  would  be  i-equired  east  of  Poteet's  Gap,  to 
overcome  two  hundred  feet  in  elevation,  a  distance  of  three  miles ;  on  the 
west  side,  to  overcome  three  hundred  feet  in  elevation,  a  distance  of  four 
and  a  half  miles ;  in  all  seven  and  a  half  miles.  The  probable  cost  of  it 
would  be : 

For  grading,  about  $3,000  per  mile $28,800 

Cross-ties  and  track-laying,  $1,500  per  mile 11,150 


$33,750- 

This  amount  of  $33,750  covers  all  the  positive  loss  that  would  occur 
after  the  permanent  road  is  built,  as  the  iron  can  be  taken  up  from  the 
temporary  track  and  used  again. 

After  reaching  once  the  water  of  Straight  Fork  the  road  will  have  to 
follow  it  to  Buffalo  creek,  down  that  creek  to  New  Kiver,  thence  down 
New  Eiver  to  the  mouth  of  Paint  Kock  creek. 

As  above  stated,  there  is  only  one  feasible  route  as  far  as  Paint  Eock 
creek.  Between  the  crossing  of  Buffalo  creek  and  Paint  Rock  a  tunnel 
six  hundred  feet  in  length  will  be  necessary  to  avoid  following  a  horse- 
shoe bend  in  the  river.  The  balance  of  the  work  is  of  such  a  character 
as  will  cost,  on  a  portion  of  the  Cincinnati  Southern  Eailway,  through  a 
country  of  similar  topography,  about  $20,000  per  mile.  The  tunnel  of 
six  hundred  feet  in  length  will  cost  about  g;28,000. 

The  distance  from  Buck-eye  Tavern  to  Paint  Eock  is  twelve  miles. 

In  order  to  make  the  connection  at  the  New  Eiver  crossing  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Southern  Railway,  the  line  keeps  the  slope  of  the  river  bluff  from 
the  mouth  of  Paint  Eock,  with  the  exception  of  two  bends  in  the  river, 
which  need  not  be  follovved,  the  ground  laying  in  a  more  direct  line  being 
favorable  to  locate  the  road  on.  The  whole  distance  from  Paint  Eock  to 
the  Engineer's  office  at  New  Eiver  is  seven  and  a  half  miles.  Two  miles 
of  it  may  be  estimated  at  about  $25,000  per  mile,  and  the  balance,  of  five 
and  a  half  miles,  at  about  $20,000  per  mile. 


108  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

The  line  passing  through  Huntsville,  and  forming  a  connection  near 
Newport,  will  have  to  cross  Paint  Rock  creek  on  a  bridge  ninety-five  feet 
high,  with  approaches  of  iron  trestle-work,  costing  in  all  abo^^it  $22,000. 
Between  Paint  Rock  and  Huntsville  a  tunnel  will  be  required  of  eight 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  in  length,  costing  about  $40,000.  The  distance 
from  Paint  Rock  to  a  point  on  Cincinnati  Southern  Railway,  near  New- 
port, is  six  miles,  of  which  two  miles  will  cost  about  $25,000  per  mile, 
and  the  balance,  of  four  miles,  $20,000  per  mile,  exclusive  of  the  $62,000 
for  tunnel  and  crossing  of  Paint  Rock. 

The  line  to  form  connection  near  Dick  Smith's,  like  the  one  joining  the 
Cincinnati  Southern  Railway  near  New  River,  will  require  a  bridge  across 
Paint  Rock  of  only  such  elevation  as  to  be  above  high  water.  Of  the 
different  branches  of  Paint  Rock  examined,  I  prefer  Keeding's  Fork  for 
the  line.  The  distance  from  the  mouth  of  Paint  Rock  creek  to  the  inter- 
section with  Cincinnati  Southern  Railway,  near  Dick  Smith's,  will  be  ten 
miles.  Through  Smith's  Gap  in  the  divide  between  Paint  Rock  and  Pine 
creek,  a  tunnel  of  about  eight  hundred  feet  in  length  will  be  necessary, 
costing  $37,000.  The  first  three  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Paint  Rock  up, 
may  be  estimated  at  $25,000  per  mile ;  the  upper  seven  miles  at  $20,000 
per  mile. 

Below  will  be  found  an  approximate  estimate,  and  a  summary  of  the 
different  routes,  as  given  by  Major  Ruhl : 

ESTIMATE  OF  COST  FROM  CAREYVILLE  TO  PAINT  ROCK. 

Repairing  road-bed  from  Careyville  to  Buck-eye $20,000 

Iron,  ties,  and  track-laying,  at  $9,000  per  mile 72,000 

Total  from  Careyville  to  Buck-eye.. $92,000 

Work  on  Poteet's  Gap  208,000 

Tunnel  between  Buffalo  and  Paint  Kock  creek 28,000 

Grading  from  Buck-eye  to  Paint  Rock,  12  miles,  at  $20,000 

per  mile 240,000 

12  miles  track  from  Buck-eye  to  Paint  Pock,  at  $9,000 108,000 

Total  from  Careyville  to  Paint  Rock $676,000 

ESTIMATE    OF   COST    FROM  CAREYVILLE  TO  NEW  RIVER 

JUNCTION. 

From  Careyville  to  Paint  Rock $676,000 

From  Paint  Rock  to  Engineer's  office,  grading  ,$160,000 

-Seven  and  half  miles  track  67,500 

Total  from  Paint  Rock  to  Engineer'  office....  227,500 

Grand  total  for  New  River  connection $903,500 

Estimate  of  permanent  work  at  Poteet's $208,000 

"  temporary      "  "  90,000 

Deduct  difference  between  permanent  and  temporary  118,000 

New  River  Junction  actual  necessary  outlay $785,500 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  '       109 

ESTIMATE    OF    COST    FROM    CAREYVILLE  TO    NEWPORT 

JUNCTION. 

From  Careyville  to  Paint  Rock $676,000 

High  trestle  and  tunnel  near  Paint  Rock $62,000 

Grading  2  miles,  atS25,000;  4  miles  at  $20,000 130,000 

Track  for  six  miles  54,000 

Total  from  Paint  Rock  to  Newj^ort  Junction  $246,000 

Grand  total  for  Newport  Connection $922,000 

Deduct  difference  between  temporary  and  permanent 

work  at  Poteet's 118,000 

Newport  Junction  actual  necessary  outlay $804,000 

ESTIMATE  OF  COST  FROM  CAREYVILLE  TO  SMITH'S  JUNC- 
TION. 

From  Careyville  to  Paint  Rock $676,000 

Tunnel  at  Smith's  Gap $37,000 

Grading  3  miles,  at  825,000 ;  7  miles  at  $20,000 215,000 

Track  for  ten  miles 90,000 

Total  from  Paint  Rock  to  Smith's  Junction ..  $342,000 

Grand  total  for  Smith's  Connection $1,018,000 

Deduct  difference  between  permanent  and  temporary 

work  at  Poteet's  118,000 

Smith's  Junction  actual  necessary  outlay $9000,00 


110       '  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  ROUTES. 


Point  of  connection  on  Cin- 
cinnati   Southern    Rail- 
way distant  from  line. 

Miles  of  new  road  to  be 
built. 

Entire  cost  of    permanent  , 
work,  including  repair  of 
grades    and    track    from 
Careyville  to  Cincinnati 
Southern  Railway. 

p:ntire  cost  of  making  con- 
ndction   from  Careyville 
to    point    on   Cincinnati 
Soutliern   Railway   with 
temporary  track  through 
Poteet's  Gap. 

Distance    from    Knoxville 
tp  Cincinnati. 

At  Emory  Gap,  256 
miles  from  Cincinnati. 

40 

miles. 

296 
miles. 

Near     crosssing     of 
New  River,  216  miles 
from  Cincinnati. 

19J 
miles. 

$903,500 

$785,500 

282 
mileff. 

Near  Newports,  21 3| 
miles  from  Cincinnati. 

18 
miles. 

$922,000 

$804,000 

278 
miles. 

Near    Dick  Smith's      23 
206   miles   frnm   Cin-   miles, 
■cinnati. 

$1,018,000 

$900,000 

274^ 
miles. 

This  connecting  link  would  lie  wholly  within  the  coal 
measures,  and  would  open  a  country  hitherto  unknown,  but 
destined  in  the  future  to  add  immensely  to  the  wealth  of 
the  State. 


Coal  Creek  Coat.  Mines. 

After  leaving  Knoxville,  the  Knoxville  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road cuts  a  number  of  ridges  of  the  Knoxville  formation 
at  right  angles,  passing  these,  generally  through  low  gaps 
or  by  deep  cuts,  tapping  the  coal  field  at  Coal  Creek,  thirty 
miles  above  Knoxville,  crossing  the  Clinch  River  at  Clin- 
ton.    At  Coal  Creek  Station  Walden's  Ridge  is  cut  by  Coal 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  Ill 

Creek,  which  comes  out  from  the  mountain  at  right  angles. 
Through  this  cut  a  branch  railroad,  half  a  mile  long,  has 
been  built  up  to  the  mines,  which  have  been  opened  on  the 
main  mountain,  back  of  the  gap.  In  the  little  back  valley 
two  streams,  one  from  the  north  and  the  other  from  the  south, 
unite  to  form  Coal  Creek.  They  meet,  and  the  combined 
waters  flow  out  at  right  angles  to  the  tributary  streams, 
The  general  section,  as  given  by  Prof.  Bradley,  shows 
twenty-one  seams  of  coal  at  this  place,  ten  of  which  are  of 
workable  thickness.  The  total  aggregate  thickness  is  thirty 
feet.  The  entire  thickness  of  the  coal  measures  is  about 
•r'^,000  feet.  The  seam  worked  is  the  fifth  from  the  bottom, 
and  is  about  140  feet  from  the  bed  of  the  creek.  It  varies 
from  four  to  seven  feet  in  thickness,  and  supplies  a  cubical 
coal  that  presents  a  very  handsome  appearance  when  carried 
to  market.  Not  more  than  one-tenth  is  lost  in  mining  and 
handling. 

Five  companies  are  actively  engaged  in  mining  at  this 
place,  viz. : 

Anderson  Coimty  Coal  Company, 

Knoxville  Iron  Company. 

Black  Diamond  Company. 

Franklin  Company. 

I/mpire  Company. 

The  mine  of  Anderson  County  Coal  Company  is  situated 
a  half  mile  south  of  the  Black  Diamond  mine.  The  main 
entry  is  driven  in  about  260  yards — direction  south  70  west. 
Twelve  yards  from  the  mouth  an  entry  was  turned  to  the 
left,  running  south  25  east;  then  turns  in  the  same  direction 
as  the  main  entry.  At  the  distance  of  fifty  yards  another 
■entry  is  turned  south  70  east,  running  in  that  direction 
for  about  100  yards,  when  it  takes  the  same  parallel  course 
with  the  other  two.  The  rooms  are  turned  on  the  left  of 
^ach  entry,  and  twelve  yards  apart.  The  following  section 
of  the  coal  was  taken  on  the  inside : 


112  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

Roof,  Hard  Black  Shale,  Thin.  Ft.  In. 

Coal 0  4 

Shale 0  1 

Coal 0  2 

Shale 0  1 

Coal 2  0 

Shale 0  1 

Coal .^. 1  6 

Total  thickness  of  Coal .* 4  0 

The  fire  clay  at  the  bottom  is  hard  and  sandy.  The  coal 
dips  slightly  south  75  west,  but  the  mine  drains  itself,  the 
coal  being  worked  in  every  instance  upward.  This  com- 
pany employs  fifty  persons  generally;  thirty-five  of  them 
are  miners.  Royalty  to  the  owner,  from  whom  the  prop- 
erty is  leased,  one  cent  per  bushel.  Cost  of  mining,  2J 
cents  for  mixed  and  3  cents  for  lump  coal. 

President,  E.  C.  Camp,  general  manager,   Knoxville; 
C  O.  Ward,  agent.  Coal  Creek.^ 

The  mine  of  the  Knoxvile  Iron  Company  has  an  entry 

for  the  distance  of  286  yards,  bearing  south  75  west  for 

that  distance.     Afterwards  it  turns  to  the  left  for  250  yards 

to  an  entry  that  runs  parallel  to  the  first.    The  main  entries 

are  driven  seven  nnd  a-half  feet  wide,  and  five  and  a-half 

to  six  and  a-half  feet  high.    Cross  entries  are  turned  at  108 

yards  apart,  of  the  same  dimensions  as  the  main   entry. 

The  rooms  are  all  turned   to  the  right,  and   are  worked 

through  to  each  cross  entry.    The  rooms  are  fourteen  yards 

wide,  leaving  a  pillar  of  six  yards  between  each  room  and 

the  entries.     The  coal  here  has  also  several  shale  partings, 

as  is  shown  by  the  section  below     Beginning  at  the  top : 

Eoof,  Hard,  Tough  Black  Shale.  Ft.  In. 

Coal... 0  5 

Shale 0  3 

Coal 0  2^ 

Fire  Clay 0  U 

Coal 1  6' 

Shale 0  2 

Coal 2  3 

Soft  Shale 0  5 

Bottom  Coal  0  10 


Total  thickness  of  Coal 5      2 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  113 

The  method  adopted  in  mining  here  deserves  mention. 
No  blasting  powder  is  employed.  The  three-inch  shale 
seam  next  to  the  upper  coal  is  picked  out,  and  the  five 
inches  of  outlying  coal  prized  down.  This  is  carried  in  for 
five  or  six  feet.  Then  the  second  parting  is  taken  out,  and 
the  coal  below  prized  up.  This  process  is  continued  until 
all  is  removed.  By  this  means  the  coal  is  not  shivered  to 
such  an  extent  as  when  blasting  powder  is  used,  and  the 
blocks  can  be  taken  out  in  almost  any  size.  There  is  a  verv 
small  proportion  of  slack,  not  exceeding  one-tenth  of  the 
coal  taken  out,  even  after  going  through  all  the  handling 
necessary  to  get  it  upon  the  cars  ready  for  shipment  to 
market. 

The  roof,  composed  of  hard  black  shale,  rarely  breaks 
down.  The  bottom  is  hard  fire  clay,  interstratified  with 
thin  sandstones.  The  coal  dips  a  little  west  of  north  ;  there- 
fore, all  cross  entries  are  turned  to  the  left.  The  coal  i& 
brought  to  the  mouth  of  the  mine  on  wooden  tracks  of 
three-feet  gauge.  Some  of  the  entries  are  laid  with  T  rails,. 
11  lbs.  to  the  yard.  This  company  employs  forty  miners 
and  about  thirty  other  persons,  and  ships  about  90,000 
bushels  per  month.  Royalty  one  cent  per  bushel.  Miners 
are  paid  2|-  cents  per  bushel  for  mixed  coal  and  3  cents 
for  lump  coal. 

Major  W.  R.  Tuttle,  Knoxville,  manager ;  M.  Llewellyn^ 
agent  at  Coal  Creek. 

The  Black  Diamond  mine  is  situated  about  one  mile  south 
and  west  from  the  last  mentioned.  The  main  entry,  driven 
under  the  spur  of  Butt  Mountain,  bears  south  53  west,  and 
runs  in  this  direction  for  70  yards;  then  turns  south  37 
east  for  the  distance  of  400  yards,  There  are  four  cross  en- 
tries turned  to  the  right,  -45  yards  apart,  and  nearly  all  the 
8 


114  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

rooms  are  turned  to  the  left.     The  section  taken  in  this 

mine  shows : 

Ft.  In. 

Coal 0  4^ 

Shale 0  3 

Coal 1  9 

Shale 0  1 

Coal 1  1 

Shale 0  1 

Coal 0  8^ 

Shale 0  sj 

Coal 0  10 

Total  thickness  of  Coal : 4  9 

The  top  is  a  hard,  tough  shale ;  bottom,  fire  clay,  very 
hard.  The  same  system  of"  mining  is  carried  on  here  as  at 
the  mine  of  the  Knoxville  Iron  Company.  This  company 
employs  sixty-five  persons,  forty  of  whom  are  miners. 
Miuers  are  paid  the  same  rates  as  paid  by  the  other  compa- 
nies mentioned.  Fifteen  car  loads,  or  3,750  bushels,  ai-e 
taken  out  daily  from  this  mine,  or  an  average  of  83  bushels 
for  each  miner  employed.  The  monthly  shipment  will 
amount  to  about  64,000  bushels. 

The  Franklin  mine  was  not  examined,  but  is  understood 
that  the  top  is  bad,  'and  the  coal  has  two  shale  partings,  one 
eight  inches  thick,  and  another  six.  The  lower  parting  has 
coal  below  one  foot  thick.  The  seam,  including  the  shale 
partings,  is  four  feet  thick.  This  company  employs  sixty 
persons,  forty  of  whom  are  miners.  The  average  daily  pro- 
duction of  coal  is  five  car  loads,  or  1,250  bushels,  which 
f^hows  a  small  average  for  the  number  of  men  employed. 
During  the  month  of  October  the  shipments  amounted  to 
23,750  bushels. 

The  Empire  mine  is  situated  on  the  east  side  of  Butt 
Mountain  (a  local  name  given  to  a  rounded  projection  of 
the  main  mountain)  400  yards  north  of  the  mine  of  the 
Knoxville  Iron  and  Coal  Company.     The  main  entry,  at 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  115 

the  distance  of  150  yards,  has  a  cross  entry  to  the  left.  This 
-entry  has  three  others  turned  to  the  left  and  three  to  the 
right.  The  rooms  are  on  the  right  and  lel't,  and  are  worked 
upon  the  same  system  as  the  other  mines  in  the  locality. 
Sixty-five  persons  find  employment  in  this  mine,  forty  of 
whom  are  miners.  Plight  car  loads  are  the  daily  produc- 
tion. The  shale  partings  occur  in  this  as  in  the  Franklin 
mine.  The  amount  of  coal  shipped  in  October  was  190 
cars,  or  47,500  bushels. 

These  three  mines  last  mentioned  are  under  one  manage- 
ment : — W.  S.  Geers,  superintendent,  Coal  Creek ;  James 
Frazer,  agent,  Knoxville. 

The  wages  of  miners  have  been  given.  For  drivers  and 
outside  hands,  from  one  to  two  dollars  per  day  is  paid; 
boys,  75  cents. 

I  am  indebted  to  Edward  P.  Moses,  of  Knoxville,  for 
the  subjoined  statement  (commencing  on  next  page)  per- 
taining to  the  coal  trade  of  the  Knoxville  and  Ohio 
railroad. 


116 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


It  will  be  noticeed  that  the  shipments  from  Coal  Creek  and  Careyville 
have  been  consolidated.  A  very  large  proportion  was  shipped  from  Coal 
Creek,  the  shipments  from  Careyville  having  been,  in  1873, 14,676  tons;  in 
1874,  6,371  tons;  in  1875,  3,774  tons:  and  in  1876  (tirst  ten  months),  only 
494  tons ;  so  that  we  may  say  all  the  coal  now  transported  is  mined  at 
Coal  Creek. 


H 

T* 

00 

-<1 

s 

» 

u 

Ci 

en 

!r 

so 

J-H 

S^ 

C<1 

1 

c 

§ 

1 

t-li-i 

o 

CO 

1— I 

c 

1    r-l 

s 

<— 1 

CO 

o   1  eo    1 

oo 

05 

O 
EH 

■>1h" 

t- 

»c 

rH 

1— 1 
oo 

o 

lO 

Is 

C<1 

T}4 

s 
s 

m 

•4 

prt 

cc 

t-  . 

c 

cc 

o- 

t- 

Oi 

00 
1— 1 

» 

,S«^ 

cr 

c: 

<£ 

'I* 

CO 

cT 

S 

1- 

^ 

iC 

CO 

1— ( 

t: 

■1 

p'"' 

•* 

cd" 

T— 1 

CO 

e 

15 

-^ 

CC 

t^ 

cr 

-* 

o 

O 

•s 

1^ 

00 

l> 

c 

1^- 

c^ 

(M 

l-H 

so 

[^ 

(5 

;-< 

ir: 

T-T 

r- 

co" 

6 

^ 

(M 

'3 
33 

d 

^ 
U 

■*. 

f2 

00 

cr. 

T— 

8 

to 

6q 

u 

o 

0- 

r     OC 

»— 1 

>» 

00 

ss 

> 

(M 

rH 

1^ 

M 

o 



CC 

«2 

CO 

c 

C/- 

a 

cq 

c^ 

1            OC 

O 

u 

•J 

a 

OC 

t> 

o 

c^ 

cc 

•* 

a> 

*^  , 

t 

-* 

c 

*1 

c^ 

« 

l-H 

^ 

V 

'« 

0 

0 

Cs 

r- 

^ 

(n 

If 

r       "5t 

o" 

.         ^ 

1 

H 

c^ 

0- 

o 

o       o 

'  8 

cc 

l> 

Cv 

^ 

cf 

=•      2: 

t- 

^ 
H 

i5 

i          I- 

cr 

a 

i      -^ 

00 

'T3 

&0 

t 

c 

iB 

5 

1.        "^ 

>        C^ 

a 

5              t^ 

r-l 
lO" 

•S 

r 

"^ 

4 

s^ 

^ 

TS 

g; 

c 

>          « 

5         1> 

Ol 

o 

5             1- 

*          <M 

^ 

C 

■6 

OC 

3          r- 

^          ^4 

4                '* 

c 

5         ir. 

>           00 

1 

ed 

^ 

I 

« 

1        <^ 

i.     '^ 

3             ■<*< 

c 

>        a 

>              T-H 

a) 

d 

c 

to 

«£ 

r        r- 

r     c<r 

c 

f        ir 

5       i-T 

o 

6       '^ 

o 

C 

5 

<           CO 

o 
O 

13        ^fl 

s 

6 

r*          J 

'—' 

"-: 

<u 

b     tn    c3      • 

-fc. 

1      "c 

I          i 

5  .  s  ^  i 

i'c 

5    : 

'■       i-i 

:       <i 
:        H 

2 

2 

c: 
1- 

5 

H 

5 

3       -r 
5      'c 

5             C 

3     o  o    : 

?  i 

3    : 

o 

01 

S 

g 

1- 

r 

-( 

Q 

5 

i  I 

5          ^ 

3    g^fig 

I    '■    ^ 

J 

^ 

0           o 

2    £  Bts 

2  < 

5 

'5 
o 

;      1 

:       ": 

.'^  ' 

S.-H       c 

5 

u 

8 

t 

^      J 

^      d 

hi 

Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad. 


117 


I 


CO 


o 


i 
I 


►j2 


s<» 

T— (       : 

lO 

00       : 

CO 

•^ 

1— 1 

O  lO  •^ 
lO  i-H  QO 
CI     CO     » 


05      ■*      t--; 

.-T  eo~  CO 


t-    to    CO    kO    >-i    CO 

lO   »-H   00   Cfc   <M   iC 
t^  Tf   Ol   OS   CO   1— I 


CO  (M  Ol 


CO  <n  CO  lO  •^ 
c^  t^  o  lO  CO 
CO  o  CO  CO  ■^_ 


t~  lO   00 

05   CO   CO 
05   IC   -^ 


TjT  lo  ic  '*  CO  -f  CO 


r-l   OO   CO   05   lO   CJ   lO 


00  ce  ci_  co_^ 
•>*'"  CO  co"  c-f 


CO   02   CO_^ 

co~  oc~  cT 


COOiOOOOOOCOJJ^IfSlj; 

5S    ;=1    ?^    S    o    -<i<    o,  c:5_  co^  co_ 

co"     co"    C4  (>f    rH      (M      CO      CO      00 


g  g  ?  ?: 


13       s       ^       s      "— ' 


s 
1-s 


118 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


H 

in 

:            <^' 

CO 

Oi 

00 

4> 

:           5^ 
:           "^ 

1 

as 

o 

s 

'-'  S5 

t^ 

:           t~^ 

iC 

-*  £ 

oo 

iC 

x^ 

H 

I—* 

00 

oo 
I— ( 

o 

oo 

O 

o 

^ 

OO         t- 

^ 

05 

1-H 

fc 

©.^ 

'-t 

(M 

!>. 

LO 

oo 

-ciG 

iT. 

W5 

(M 

ec 

"^ 

g 

^S 

i6 

crT 

cq 

e 

M 

^ 

§ 

O        <M 

; 

(M 

^ 

(8 

(M 

(M 

O 

O 

coo 

1 

S4 

p-l 

52 

^^ 

(N 

«c 

ec 

i-H 

So 

I-* 

o: 

cc 

CO 

Si 

g 

O 

cc 

cc 

ec" 

1-1 

1 

■^ 

c- 

O 

oc 

cc 

05 

E£ 

oo 

C-l 

S^l 

ec 

O 

o: 

cc 

i> 

o- 

1—1 

O 

oo 

iC 

, 

=c 

1> 

C 

05 

cc 

1-« 

Oi 

cc 

t- 

o 

c 

o- 

lO 

00 
1— 1 

iC 

o 

CO 

o 

cc 

05_ 

KH 

T" 

ec 

lO 

s 

IC 

'^ 

00 

CO 

o 

cc 

t^ 

id 

t^ 

a: 

»o 

oo 

<x: 

o- 

CO 

t- 

1- 

o 

(M 

cc 

cc 

CO 

'g 

I— 1 

02 

(rf 

cc 

g" 

s 

i 

00 
l-H 

OO 

00 

o 
ec 

CO 

CO 

00 

cc 

lO 

I- 

o 

ec" 
ec 

O 

^ 

,-^^ 

/— ^ 

_, 

^ 

c     : 

OQ 

8 

eJ 

^.~ 

m 

h4 

o 

^1 

o 

H 

s 
Q 

b 
O 

C 

c 

c 

6 

13    cS 

c 

Ol 

-2- 

c 

2 

> 

1 

M 

H 
02 

O 

a: 

o 

125 

a 

Ol 

c«  o 
60  O 

o  c 
o  rt 

C  ■" 

o 

a 

1o 

"o 

S      "> 

2 

y. 

c 

"c 

2      S 

O 

"i. 

'c 

"o 

^^ 

^ 

w 

Ph 

PH 

Ph 

o 

P3 

Knoxville  and   Ohio  Railroad.  119 

Careyvilt.e  Mines. 

Careyville  is  situated  at  the  terminus  of  the  Knoxville 
and  Ohio  Railroad,  near  the  foot  of  Powell's  Valley,  and 
thirty-eight  miles  from  Knoxville.  Cross  Mountain  rises 
on  the  west  3,123  feet  above  the  village,  and  continues  in 
a  northerly  direction  to  Morrowville.  Fork  Mountain, 
separated  by  Cove  Creek  from  Cross  Mountain,  lies  on  the 
north  of  the  town  and  continues  its  course  nearly  parallel 
with  Cross  Mountain. 

The  strata  of  Cross  Mountain  are  nearly  horizontal,  hav- 
ing a  slight  inclination  toward  the  south-west.  Crossing 
the  valley  the  strata  show  great  disturbance,  folded  along 
two  axes,  one  corresponding  with  Cross  Mountain  and  the 
ether  with  Powell's  Valley.  The  latter  axis,  further  up 
the  valley,  is  found  two  or  three  miles  iVom  the  foot  of  the 
mountain.  Near  Careyville  it  approaches  so  closely  as  to 
give  a  sharp  dip  to  the  strata.  The  Cross  Mountain  axis, 
a  few  miles  to  the  south-east,  comes  so  near  the  mountain 
as  to  cause  Walden's  Ridge  to  consist  of  sharply  inclined 
strata  of  both  sides  of  the  anticlinal.  This  anticlinal  passes 
to  the  very  bottom  of  Cove  Creek,  where  the  strata  are 
found  outcropping  on  edge,  but  in  the  mountain  opposite 
Cove  Creek,  the  strata  are  left  in  an  undisturbed  position. 
Where  the  two  axis  join  near  Careyville  the  strata  are 
much  confused. 

The  rocks  of  Cross  Mountain  pertain  to  the  coal  meas- 
ures, two  thirds  of  Fork  Mountain,  and  a  part  of  Cove 
Creek  valley.  Inclosed  in  the  strata  of  Cross  Mountain 
are,  according  to  Dr.  Safford,  nine  seams  of  coal,  six  of 
which  he  thinks  are  workable.  I  am  of  opinion,  after  a 
careful  examination,  that  the  thickness  of  some  of  those 
seames,  as  given  by  Dr.  SafFord,  is  local ;  for  higher  up  on 
Cove  Creek  the  thickness  is  considerably  reduced.  This 
opinion  is  likewise  concurred  in  by  Prof.  Lesley,  of  Penn- 


120  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

sylvania,  who  made  a  survey  of  this  region,  and  a  portion 
of  whose  report  will  be  given  hereafter. 

Three  workable  seams,  however,  exist  beyond  all  ques- 
tion, and  should  the  one  opened  upon  the  top  of  Cross 
Mountain  (at  the  outcrop  ten  inches)  prove  workable,  there 
will  be  four.  The  outcrop  of  the  seams  are  deeply  covered 
on  the  mountain  slopes  by  masses  of  sandstone.  Prof. 
Bradley,  to  whom  I  acknowledge  my  obligations  for  many 
of  the  facts  embraced  in  this  report,  thinks  it  probable  that 
the  lower  two  seams  belong  to  the  lower  coal  measures,  and 
those  above  to  the  upper. 

The  lowest  seam  here  is  thought  to  be  the  equivalent  of 
the  seam  worked  at  Coal  Creek  (coal  E  of  Bradley's  sec- 
tion), in  which  opinion,  however.  Prof.  Lesley  does  not 
concur.  This  seam  at  Carey  ville  lies  nearly  on  a  level  with 
the  railroad,  and  is  about  four  feet  thick.  Three  mines 
have  been  worked  at  this  place,  all  opened  in  this  seam. 

The  Careyville  mine  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the 
depot,  was  worked  for  several  years,  but  is  now  abandoned. 
Two  are  now  in  active  operation — Kennedy  and  East 
Tennessee — but  they  are  not  worked  to  any  great  extent, 
mainly  for  local  use,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the 
table  of  shipments  from  this  place.  The  Kennedy  mine 
lies  three  or  four  hundred  yards  to  the  south  of  the  Carey- 
ville mine.  The  seam  shows  the  effect  of  the  anticlinal  to 
the  east,  the  coal  dipping  at  the  outcrop  to  the  north-west, 
but  becomes  horizontal  within  the  distance  of  thirty  yards, 
and  afterward  lies  in  a  series  of  long  waves.  The  seam 
where  now  worked  has  a  parting  of  fire  clay  eighteen  inches 
thick,  with  thirty  inches  of  coal  below  and  eighteen  inches 
above.  Sandy  bluish  shales  lie  below  and  a  black  shale 
above.  There  is  a  rise  in  the  strata  between  the  Carey- 
ville mine  and  this  by  which  the  coal  at  the  Kennedy  mine 
is  elevated  about  ten  feet  above  that  of  the  Careyville  mine. 
The  main  gangway  of  this  mine  is  three  hundred  and  fifty 


Knoxville  end   Ohio  Railroad.  121 

yards  long,  and  runs  nearly  south.  A  cross  entry  to  the 
shaft,  made'for  ventilation,  shows  that  the  coal  rises  about 
three  inches  to  the  yard.  From  this  cross  entry  at  the 
distance  of  eighty  yards  from  its  begining  point,  another 
cross  entry,  running  south,  has  been  made,  which  follows 
the  direction  of  a  sharp  ridge  and  under  it,  the  drift  being 
upon  the  fold  of  an  anticlinal,  the  coal  dipping  downwards 
to  the  east  and  west.  The  shaft  which  has  been  mentioned 
goes  through  twenty-seven  feet  of  loose  stand  stone  and 
gravel,  forty  feet  of  gray  shale,  eighteen  inches  of  coal, 
and  seventeen  feet  of  fire  clay  to  the  coal  now  worked. 

The  coal  in  the  sharp  ridge  spoken  of,  dips  south  four 
degrees  east  for  about  one  hundreds  yards,  when  a  succes-  . 
sion  of  short  waves,  or  wrinkles  (rolls  of  the  miners)  occur. 
These  continue  for  about  fifty  yards,  when  a  sudden  drop, 
or  fault,  of  twenty-five  feet  occurs,  after  which  the  coal 
rises  gradually  two  inches  to  the  yard. 

These  faults  and  rolls  form  a  part  of  the  East  Tennessee 
mine,  which  has  been  opened  about  half  a  mile  south  of 
Careyville.  A  great  many  difficulties  have  been  met  with 
at  this  mine.  The  entry  has  been  made  at  the  end  of  a 
cove,  or  cul-de-sac,  which  sweeps  around  in  a  semicircle. 
The  fault  occurs  at  the  distance  of  fifty  or  sixty  yards  from 
the  mouth  of  the  mine,  and  runs  in  a  semicircle  concentric 
with  the  range  of  elevations  outside.  In  many  places 
within  the  mine  small  seams  of  coal  are  found  rolled  up 
with  the  sandy  shale.  The  main  seam  has  a  parting  of 
fine  dirty  coal  near  the  center.  This  is  picked  out,  and 
the  coal  above  prized  down.  The  lower  layer  is  then  taken 
up.  No  powder  is  used  in  mining.*  The  coal  is  thinly 
laminated  and  glossy ;  softens  greatly  in  the  fire. 

Another  opening  has  been  made  near  the  saw  mill,  and 
is  known  as  Elliott's  mine.  The  lower  half  of  the  seam 
only  is  in  place,  according  to  Prof.  Bradley,  who  made  a 


122  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

survey  of  this  region,  the  upper  half,  though  once  deposited,, 
having  been  washed  away. 

Quoting  Prof.  Bradley:  "The  entry  has  been  carried  in 
to  the  distance  of  three  hundred  and  seventy  feet,  without 
again  encountering  any  sign  of  thick  coal.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  this  erosion  was  only  local,  and  that  by  fol- 
lowing the  thick  coal  from  the  point  where  it  was  encoun- 
tered near  the  mouth  of  ihe  mine,  the  full  thickness  would 
be  encountered  at  nearly  every  point.  The  coal  thus  far 
brought  from  this  mine,  has  been  inclined  to  split  up  into 
thin  laminae,  but  this  is  apparently  only  the  effect  of  some 
slight  degree  of  weathering,  the  entry  having  skirted  the 
lower  spur  instead  of  having  penetrated  it.  The  coal  of 
this  seam  is  usually  quite  free  from  pyrite  (the  sulphur  of 
the  miners.  Other  openings  are  now  being  made  to  test 
this  s^am. 

"iSecond  Seam. — No.  2,  lying  from  eight  to  twelve  feet 
above  No.  1,  shows  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  of 
bright  coal,  but  being  too  thin  for  working  prolitably  in 
the  presence  of  thicker  seams;  no  openings  have  been 
made  to  fairly  test  its  quality. 

"Third  Seam. — No.  3  lies  between  one  hundred  and  fifty 
and  two  hundred  feet  further  up  the  mountain,  and  shows 
from  one  to  three  feet  of  bright  coal.  No  openings  have 
been  made  upon  it. 

"Other  Seams. — The  remaining  workable  seams  lie,  ac- 
cording to  Safford,  at  about  the  following  elevation  above 
No.  1,  viz  :  No.  4,  three  feet  thick  at  470  feet;  No.  5,  from 
three  to  six  feet  thick  from  800  to  850  feet;  No.  8,  from 
four  to  six  feet  thick  at  from  1,250  to  1,350  feet;  No.  9 
is  six  feet  thick  at  from  1,600  to  1,700  feet.  No  openings 
have  been  made  to  any  of  these  seams.  Fragments  of 
clean  coal,  apparently  belonging  to  No.  4,  were  found  in 
the  wash  of  a  mountain  branch,  as  it  made  its  appearance 
from  beneath  the  huge  tumbling  masses  of  sandstone  which 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  123 

fill  the  bottoms  of  all  the  hollows.  If  extensive  mining^ 
should  be  undertaken  here,  the  coal  of  these  upper  seams 
could  readily  be  brought  down  by  a  tram  road,  for  the  con- 
struction of  which  the  heavy  timber  of  the  mountain-side 
would  furnish  abundant  material. 

A  fine  exposure  of  coal  is  seen  at  Hatmakers,  near  the 
top,  and  beyond  Cross  Mountain,  four  feet  thick. 

"  The  argillaceous  red  hematite,  locally  known  as  Dye- 
stone,  is  found  in  great  abundance.  Along  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  to  the  northward,  two  seams,  commonly  exist,, 
ranging  from  one  to  five  feet  in  thickness,  and  of  different 
hardness.  Of  these  the  harder  has  not  been  mined,  having 
been  found  difficult  of  reduction  in  the  small  forges  of  the 
country.  It  is,  however,  readily  reduced  in  a  smelting 
furnace.  The  softer  bed  has  been  mined  along  its  outcrop 
for  many  miles.  The  openings  near  Careyville  have  now 
caved  in,  but  the  old  miners  inform  me  that  the  seams  have 
averaged  from  four  to  five  feet  in  thickness. 

"  Openings  recently  made  upon  the  hill  between  the  old 
Carey  residence  and  the  sulphur  spring,  have  exposed  a 
net  work  of  veins  which  are  massed  at  one  point  so  as  to 
give  a  thickness  of  twenty-one  feet  of  solid  ore,  but  this  is 
near  the  junction  of  the  two  axis  of  the  elevation,  as  before 
described,  and  such  thickness  is  only  local. 

"  The  first  railroad  cut  above  the  station  exposed  the 
upper  seam,  w^ith  a  thickness  of  about  four  feet,  which  may 
be  fairly  accounted  the  average  thickness  of  the  seam 
in  this  region.  This  ore  should  yield  in  a  good  furnace 
between  60  and  70  per  cent  of  iron. 

"  Brown  hematite  (limonite)  hydrated  oxide  of  iron  has 
been  seen  in  considerable  quantities  at  three  points  upon 
the  slope  of  Cross  Mountain,  viz :  at  326,  at  787,  and  at 
1,275  feet  above  the  mouth  of  the  coal  mine.  At  the  lower 
two  beds  the  ore  appears  to  be  merely  surface  accumula- 
tions in  the  hollows  among  the  edges  of  the  underlying 


124  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

rocks,  and  is  sometimes  rather  sandy.  Small  surface  exca- 
vations have  not  yet  shown  any  solid  bed  of  ore,  but  the 
numerous  large  masses  lying  about  on  the  surface  would 
indicate  the  presence  of  bodies  large  enough  to  be  of  con- 
siderable value.  At  the  highest  level  the  ore  contains  fossil 
plants,  and  this,  together  with  the  structure  of  the  frag- 
ments, would  indicate  that  this  is  only  the  altered  outcrop- 
ping of  a  regular  vein  of  impure  carbonate  of  iron  known 
as  clay  ironstone.  The  ore,  as  it  occurs  upon  the  surface, 
should  yield  from  25  to  30  per  cent  of  iron.  The  clay 
ironstone  itself  occurs  in  thin  laminse  in  the  dark  shales 
above  coal  No.  2,  but  no  considerable  amount  has  been 
seen  at  any  point.  As  it  occurs  here  it  should  yield  from 
30  to  35  per  cent  of  iron." 

The  Dyestone  seam  continues  northwardly  from  Carey- 
ville,  and  the  ore  from  it  was  mined  for  many  years  at 
Sharp's  Forge,  near  Big  Creek  Gap.  The  seam  here  has 
of  an  average  thickness  of  three  feet.  The  lower  side  is 
soft  and  crumbling,  the  upper  hard.  Sometimes  a  thin  seam 
of  shale  separates  the  two  layers.  Higher  up  on  the  moun- 
tain is  another  seam  of  ore,  of  a  steel  blue  color,  and  very 
rich.  It  requires  about  400  lbs.  of  ore  to  make  100  lbs.  of 
bar  iron  as  worked  in  the  forge,  leaving  a  large  per  centage 
of  iron  in  the  cinder.  Two  fires  in  this  forge  have  the  ca- 
pacity of  2,000  lbs.  per  week.  The  charcoal  from  a  cord  of 
wood  will  make  about  100  lbs.  of  iron. 

Another  forge,  Baker's,  six  miles  south-east,  on  Cedar 
Creek,  works  the  ore  from  the  same  seam,  with  similar 
results. 

Cove  Creek  and  Elk  Fork  Region. 

Cove  Creek  heads  up  from  Careyville  northwestward,  and 
the  railway  line  having  reached  Elk  Fork  Gap,  ten  miles 
^bove,  drops  over  into  the  valley  of  Elk  Fork  of  the  Cum- 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  125- 

berland,  which  it  follows  north,  north-east  and  south,  to  the 
Kentucky  State  line — the  whole  distance  from  Careyville 
being  about  twenty-seven  miles. 

On  the  east  of  Cove  Creek  is  Fork  Mountain,  which 
forms  a  steep  barrier,  with  cliiFs  at  the  south  end.  On  the 
>vest,  a  similar  mountain  side,  broken  by  ravines,  rises  to 
the  height  of  2,000  feet  or  more,  and  gradually  declines  to 
Morrowville,  ten  miles  distant,  where  it  is  cut  by  Poteet's 
Gap.  Its  prolongation  makes  one  of  the  ranges  of  the  Jel- 
lico  Mountains.  Between  Cross  Mountain  and  Fork  Moun- 
tain is  a  narrow  valley,  with  small  patches  of  arable  land. 

An  anticlinal  fold  comes  out  of  Fork  Mountain  at  an 
acute  angle  into  the  bed  of  Cove  Creek,  near  where  the  fos- 
sil ore  and  limestone  have  been  brought  to  the  surface  by  an 
upthrow  of  the  anticlinal  of  Sharp's  Gap. 

The  ascent  of  the  road  from  Careyville  to  Elk  Gap  tun- 
nel is  450  feet,  or  at  the  rate  of  45  feet  per  mile.  The  coal 
outcrops  are  at  all  elevations  above  the  railway,  from  grade 
up  to  nearly  2,000  feet. 

Prof.  Lesley,  in  an  unpublished  report  of  this  region,, 
says : 

"  Most  of  the  coal  seams  are  at  present  inaccessible,  only 
the  lowest  can  be  worked  at  Careyville.  Moreover,  much 
of  the  lower  1,000  feet  is  occupied  by  sand  rocks,  sandy 
shales,  flagstone  formations,  and  smaller  coal  beds.  These 
occupy  the  terrace  knobs  of  Careyville  face  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  they  make  up  the  two  barriers,  right  and  left-hand 
of  Cove  Creek,  up  to  the  sixth  or  seventh  mile.  From  this 
up  the  right-hand  barrier  (Fork  Mountain)  continues  to 
consist  of  the  same  inferior  measures;  but  the  mountains  on 
the  left  have  the  superior  measure ;  and  these  take  posses- 
sion of  the  whole  country  to  the  west  of  Walker's  and  south- 
west of  Elk  Gap.  The  superior  measures  consist  of  1,000 
feet  or  less  of  soft  shales,  containing  workable  coal  beds, 
with  a  great  sand  rock  (Fortress  Rock)  below,  and  a  great 


126 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


saud  rock  (Cap  Rock)  on  top.  The  big  coal  bed  lies  just 
on  the  Fortress  Rock,  and  outcrops  nearly  at  water-level, 
seven  feet  thick,  one-half  mile  west  of  Walker's,  between 
the  ninth  and  tenth  miles.  It  can  be  mined  all  through  the 
country  to  the  west  of  this.  Its  outcrop  on  the  other  or 
eastern  side  of  the  anticlinal,  is  in  the  ravines  back  ©f 
Sharpe's  Run  Valley.  It  is  worked  by  Sharpe,  at  a  point 
half-a-mile  north-east  of  his  house,  and  at  another  point 
a  mile  and  a-half  south-east  of  his  house.  The  valley  of 
Cove  Creek  and  Sharpe's  Run  are  excavated  in  the  great 
shale  formation  below  the  Fortress  Rock  and  above  the 
conglomerate  (the  sand  rocks  of  the  antdclinal)  the  one  on 
the  one  side,  the  other  on  the  other  side  of  the  anticlinal, 
exhibited  by  section  A.  B.,  thus:     Fig.  1. 

-i S.  N. J- 


CroBS  Section  taken  at  Sharpe's  Run  Gap. 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  127 

"  Further  explanation  is  necessary.  Only  the  upper  part 
of  Cove  Creek  valley  is  the  more  valuable.  The  Careyville 
lower  coals  are  those  under  ground.  The  anticlinal  appa- 
rently flattens  out  as  it  approaches  the  Elk  Mountain, 
giving  place  to  a  gentle  rise  to  the  north-west  of  all  the 
measures,  bringing  the  concealed  Careyville  coals  to  view 
■on  the  outside  slope  of  the  J^lk  Mountain.  Their  crops  are 
noticeable  in  the  road  descending  from  the  gap  to  the  lime 
kiln,  on  the  headbreaks  of  Elk  Fork  water.  The  descent  is 
one  of  350  feet  vertical.  At  the  lime  kiln  we  come  upon 
the  top  layers  of  the  subcarboniferous  limestone.  In  flat- 
tening, tne  anticlinal  rises  northward  from  Sharpe's. 

"In  like  manner,  coming  southward,  the  anticlinal  rises 
slowly  and  spreads  its  two  legs  somewhat.  Cove  Creek  can 
no  longer  keep  in  the  shales  above  the  anticlinal  conglom- 
erate rocks.  It  cuts  slowly  sidewise  through  the  left  (west) 
leg,  and  gets  into  the  centre  line  of  the  anticlinal,  between 
its  two  legs,  and  thus  cuts  down  to  the  underlying  coal  sys- 
tem, or  Careyville  coals,  which  appear  in  the  cuttings  in 
the  railway  in  many  places — at  least  the  rock  at  Sharpe's 
Run  Gap  gets  to  the  top  of  the  Knobs  overlooking  the  saw- 
mill 350  feet  above  the  creek,  and  300  feet  above  the  Carey- 
ville coal  bed. 

"  But  when  the  Cove  Creek  water  has  cut  a  rocky,  narrow 
•channel  through  the  west  leg  of  the  anticlinal,  and  reached 
its  axis  about  two  miles  above  the  saw-mill,  the  north-west 
<lip  opposite  the  second  bridge  is  forty-five  degrees,  and  in 
the  neighborhood  the  water  is  seen  flowing  over  nearly  ver- 
tical shales  and  flagstones;  and  fossils,  iron  ore,  and  lime- 
stone, were  found  in  the  bed  of  the  creek  not  far  above  the 
saw-mill. 

"The  anticlinal  must,  therefore,  be  considered  as  having 
snapped  along  its  back,  and  let  the  whole  of  Cross  Moun- 
tain drop,  while  the  north-east  bank  of  Cove  Creek  rose 
several  thousand  feet  , bringing  iron  ore  to  a  level  with  the 


128  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

coal  measures.  The  direction  of  this  fissure  must  be  N.W. 
and  S.  E.,  and  the  line  of  it  must  be  under  the  pointed  end 
of  Fork  Mountain.  It  is  next  to  impossible  to  describe  the 
method  by  which  the  ore  could  get  into  the  valley.  Two 
separate  fractures  of  the  crust  of  the  earth  seem  necessary  to 
explain  it,  meeting  at  a  low  angle  just  where  the  anticlinal 
axis  ends,  and  bringing  up  a  sharp  wedge  of  the  iron  ore 
bearing  rocks. 

"  The  two  branches  of  Sharpe's  Run  flow  from  different 
points  of  the  compass,  to  meet  at  the  place  where  the  back 
of  the  anticlinal  is  lower  than  anywhere  else,  either  further 
north  or  further  south ;  and  here  the  combined  stream 
breaks  through  the  anticlinal  out  of  the  shales  of  a  shallow 
trough,  in  which  they  have  been  flowing  into  the  same 
shales  in  the  deeper  trough  of  Cove  Creek.  They  cannot 
there  turn  northwest  for  an  outlet,  because  all  the  measures 
are  gently  rising  in  that  direction. 

"They,  therefore,  turn  south  with  the  drainage  of  that 
north-west  district,  keep  the  west  side  of  the  anticlinal  as 
far  as  possible,  and  there,  by  some  weak  place  produced  by 
the  neighboring  fracture,  get  into  and  under  the  rocks  of 
the  anticlinal,  find  the  soft  rocks  of  the  iron  ore  formation 
outcrops,  and  follow  it  and  the  fissure  out  into  the  open 
country." 

Lesley  further  says  in  his  report : 

"  We  proved  that  there  is  no  regularly  workable  bed  in 
a  thousand  feet  of  measures  from  the  Careyville  coal  bed  up 
to  the  ^even  feet,  or  Sharpe's  coal  bed.  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  at  no  place  some  one  or  other  of  these  intermediate 
coal  beds  may  not  be  workable.  Local  impediments  in 
these  beds  are  to  be  expected.  On  certain  tracts  one  or 
other  of  them  may  become  tliree  or  four  feet  thick,  and, 
therefore,  valuable.  But  as  a  rule,  and  so  far  as  they  are 
now  known,  they  are  not  worth  reporting  upon.  This  is 
equally  true  of  the  beds  beneath  the  (conglomerate?)  an- 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  129 

ticlinal  sand  rocks,  Nos.  5  and  4,  and  between  that  and  the 
Careyville  coal.  Safford  gives  two  such  coal  beds,  and  makes 
them  both  three  feet,  but  it  must  be  a  mistake;  for,  in  the 
first  place,  there  are  more  than  two,  as  the  outcrops  in  the 
railroad  cuttings,  and  up  the  hill  slopes  over  the  railroad, 
show;  and,  in  the  next  place,  not  one  of  all  these  outcrops 
gives  any  hope  of  a  workable  bed.  They  are  beds  of  poor 
coal  and  black  slate  mixed,  and  not  thick  enough  for  a 
gangway  at  that.  The  "  lower  "  (3)  coal  shows  in  the  road 
leading  up  from  Careyville  over  the  mountain,  and  is  evident- 
ly thin,  at  the  same  time  level.  Just  under  the  rocks  of  the 
Knob,  over  the  saw-mill,  its  place  is  marked.  The  upper 
bed,  however,  has  been  used  by  the  settlers,  where  it  outcrops 
still  higher  up  the  mountain  at  the  saw-mill,  and  is  called 
three  feet  thick  there.  I  do  not  know  its  thickness  or  qual- 
ity, except  by  hearsay.  These  sub-conglomerate  coals  are 
always  very  variable  and  uncertain,  expanding  unexpectedly, 
and  sometimes  to  an  astonishing  size. 

"  I  have  known  an  expansion  of  a  five-foot  bed  to  twenty- 
five  feet  in  a  few  yards  distance,  but  such  deposits  are 
entirely  local. 

'*It  is  to  be  expected,  therefore,  that  at  some  points  these 
lower  coals  will  be  workable  for  short  distances,  but  no  re- 
liance can  be  placed  upon  them.  It  would  be  unsafe  to  es- 
tablish an  extensive  colliery  on  even  the  best  exposures. 
To  illustrate  this,  I  shall  now  s})eak  of  the  Careyville  bed. 

The  Careyville  bed  is  given  by  Saflbrd,  thus  : 

Shales 10 

Coal-top  bench 1 

Shale  and  fireclay 4 

Shale 5 

Coal  main  seam 3 

Fire  clay 6 

Sandy  shales  visible  for  30. 

"  The  extensive  workings   here   during    sixteen    months 

have  revealed  the  behavior  of  the  bed.     The  two  benches 

9 


130  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

which  compose  it  lie  sometimes  within  two  feet  of  each 
other,  and  at  other  times  have  sixteen  feet  of  measures 
between  them.  At  the  little  tangent  next  below  the  saw- 
mill, the  interval  is  ten  feet.  Where  they  are  three  leet 
apart,  the  interval  consists  of  slatery  coal.  The  upper  layer, 
or  bed,  is  very  regularly  16  feet  thick,  and  first-rate  coal. 
The  main  bed  varies  from  three  to  one  and  a-half  feet. 
These  variations  are  sudden.  At  the  saw-mill,  in  the  ra- 
vine back  of  the  railroad  embankment,  the  bed  outcrops 
Avith  3' — 4"  of  coul,  and  a  gangway  was  driven  in  for  a 
mine,  but  the  coal  nipped  down  to  18"  or  20",  and  ran  so 
tor  one  hundred  yards,  where  the  mine  was  abandoned. 
These  variations  in  the  bed  are  essential  to  its  original  de- 
])osit,  and  not  the  result  of  the  neighborhood  of  the  fault." 

Disposing  of  the  lower  coal  seams  as  being  comparatively 
unimportant,  and  showing  very  clearly  that  the  Careyville 
coal  belongs  to  these,  and  must  be  far  below  the  seam 
worked  at  Coal  Creek,  Prof.  Lesley  proceeds  to  describe 
the  upper  coal  system  as  developed  on  Cove  Creek. 

"  The  bed  of  most  importance,"  says  Prof.  Lesley,  "is 
the  seven-feet  bed,  so  called  because  Mr.  Winter  actually 
got  a  clean  seven-foot  cut  across  its  undisturbed  outcrop  in 
the  ravine,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  Walker's  house, 
jind  within  a  couple  hundred  yards  of  the  creek,  and  but 
a  few  yards  above  its  water-level. 

"It  outcrops  behind  a  })romontory,  through  which  it  de- 
scends with  a  dip  of  about  ten  degrees  north-east,  and  it 
must  basin  in  this  promontory,  and  outcrops  along  its  face. 
As  the  promontory  rises  down  stream,  the  bed  basins  deeper 
into  it,  and  spreads  back  into  the  hill.  Whether  it  be 
an  outlying  basin,  or  one  ccuuected  with  the  extension  area 
■of  the  bed  in  the  mountain  to  the  south-west,  I  had  not 
time  to  determine.  I  .place  no  particular  value  on  this 
particular  exposure  beyond  the  fact  that  shows  how  conve- 
jiiently  the  <'o;d  can   be  reached  from  the  railroad,  and  the 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  EaUroad.  131 

excellent  character  and  conditition  of  the  bed.  It  shows  a 
€lean  face  of  seven  feet  between  the  roof  and  floor,  both 
visible,  with  scarcely  a  trace  of  slate ;  bituminous,  bright, 
sufficiently  solid. 

Of  course  I  do  not  expect  this  bed  to  be  everywhere  as 
thick  and  homogeneously  good  as  it  shows  itself  to  be  here. 
But  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  it  to  be  a  large  bed  over  large 
areas.  I  shall  new  describe  its  appearance  along  its  out- 
crops. East  of  Sharpe's  Run,  supposing  it  to  be  the  same, 
and  my  reason  for  so  supposing  it  expressed  in  diagram,  fig- 
ure 2,  may  however  be  mistaken  in  identifying  the  rock  of 
the  cliffs  opposite  the  promontory  with  the  Fortress  Rock 
under  Sharpe's  bed.  Should  the  rock  of  the  cliffs  prove  to 
be  one  of  the  three,  sand  rocks  below  the  Fortress  Rock, 
then  the  seven-feet  coal  bed  at  this  ])oint  will  be  identical 
with  a  so-called  three-foot  bed  opened  and  mined  by  Sharps 
in  the  bed  of  the  run,  a  mile  east  of  his  house ;  and  this  would 
place  the  seven-feet  bed  one  step  lower  in  the  series ;  but 
still  far  above  the  conglomerate  of  the  anticlinal,  it  would 
only  widen  its  area,  and  make  its  general  position  more 
convenient  for  reaching  from  the  railway. 

"  It  is,  therefore,  a  practically  unimportant  uncertainty. 
I  will  proceed,  however,  on  the  supposition.  The  big  be<l 
of  the  series  is  the  seven-feet  bed  just  described." 

"  The  country  about  Sharpe's  coal  mine  is  watered  by 
rills,  numerous  and  copious,  issuing  from  the  horizontal 
outcrops  of  these  beds  high  up  on  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains. The  upland  is  formed  by  horsebacks,  or  sharp  wall- 
like zigzagging  ridges,  capped  by  the  Cap  Rock,  which  is 
about  thirty  feet  thick.  There  are  scarcely  any  sandstone 
layers  visible  in  the  seven  hundred  feet  of  interval  between 
the  Cap  Rock  and  Fortress  Rock.  All  is  shale,  sometimes 
highly  ferruginous.  Iron  ore  beds  may  occur,  but  cannot 
be  of  any  any  great  value. 


132 


Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 


CAP   ROCK  I— - 


"The  roof  of  Sharpe's  coal  is  a  good,  hard  shale,  which 
will  not  give  ranch  tronble.  The  npper  bench  of  coal  has  a 
sort  of  fire  clay  eight  inches  thick  over  it,  which  will  bother 
the  miners.  The  upper  bench  of  coal  is  3  1-12  feet  thick 
where  opened,  and  breaks  up  into  horizontal  laminse  at  the 
outcrop,  but  becomes  solid  under  the  hill,  breaking  up  ver- 
tically. It  is  hard,  and  extraordinarily  free  from  foreign 
matter.  I  supposed  it  to  be  quite  ashey  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  specimen.  Analyzed  by  P.  Frazier,  jr.,  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  instructor  of  chemistry,  it 
contained,  according  to  analysis  : 

Water, 2.22 

Volatile  combustible,  matter, 31.15 

Carbon,  fixed, 64.32 

Ash, 2.31 

100 

Ashes,  pulvurulent  reddish  brown. 

By  net  analysis — Sulphur, 2.1 

"  "A  fire  clay,  only  eight  inches  thick,  separates  this  from 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  133 

the  middle  bench  of  apparently  much  better  coal,  but  which 
in  reality  shows  almost  an  identical  analysis : 

AVater, 0.77 

Ash, 2.82 

Volatile  combustible  matter, 31.58 

Carbon,  fixed, 64.83 

100 
Ashes,  pulvurulent  pinkish  gray. 
By  net  analysis— Sulphur, 3.07 

"  The  lower  bench  consists  of  nearly  a  foot  and  a-half  of 
cannel  coal  in  half-inch  layers,  not  good  enough  for  the 
market,  but  well  adapted  for  fuel  in  the  blast  furnace  when 
mixed*  with  the  purer  coals  of  the  upper  and  middle  benches. 
In  this  sense  the  whole  bed  can  be  used.  Between  roof  and 
floor  there  are  sixty-eight  inches  sixty-six  of  which  are  coal." 

"  The  two  coal  beds  which  occur  in  the  midst  of  the  700 
feet  of  shales  beneath  the  Cap  Rock  were  opened  by  Mr. 
Winter,  in  the  hills  south-west  and  south  of  the  Elk  Gap 
and  Buckeye  tavern.  They  are  good  looking,  three  and 
four  feet  beds,  and  will  undoubtedly  prove  workable  over 
extensive  areas.  A  mile  above  the  Buckeye,  on  the  north 
side  of  Cove  Creek,  near  its  head,  and  close  to  the  railroad 
line,  Mr.  Winter  opened  a  three-foot  and  four-foot  bed,  a 
little  contorted,  he  thought,  with  sand  rock  roof  and  fire 
clay  floor,  dipping  twenty-five  degrees  north,  sixty  east. 
In  fact,  there  cannot  be  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  exten- 
sive and  profitable  mining  along  the  valley  of  Cove  Creek." 

Passing  now  through  Elk  Gap,  the  divide  between  the 
waters  oi  the  Tennessee  and  the  waters  of  the  (Uimberland, 
1,702  feet  above  the  sea,  we  descend  gently  to  the  Elk  Fork 
Valley,  drained  by  Elk  Fork,  a  tributary  of  Clear  Fork  of 
the  Cumberland.  The  valley  of  Elk  Fork  is  fifteen  miles 
in  length,  fourteen  of  which  is  in  the  State  of  Tennessee. 
It  is  deeply  set  in  the  Table-land,  narrow,  and  bounded  on 
the  east  by  Pine  Mountain,  a  high  straight  ridge,  and  on 


134  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

the  west  by  the  outlying  knobs  of  Jellico  Mountain.  The 
existence  of  a  great  fault,  by  which  a  dislocation  of  strata,, 
amounting,  probably,  to  2,000  feet,  has  made  this  valley 
one  of  peculiar  interest  to  geologists,  while  the  great  extent 
and  value  of  its  coal  and  iron  have  given  it  a  special  interest 
to  the  iron  master.  By  this  dislocation  all  the  strata  from 
the  eastern  side,  as  low  as  the  Trenton  rocks  of  the  lower 
Silurian,  have  been  brought  above  the  surface;  while  on 
the  ©pposite  side,  facing  these,  are  the  carboniferous.  From 
the  line  of  fault  the  dip  is  backwards  in  opposite  directions. 
At  Alvan  Smith's,  four  miles  from  the  Kentucky  line,  a 
seam  of  coal,  four  feet  thick,  abuts  against  the  limestone 
rocks,  dipping  westwardly  28  degrees  under  Elk  Fork. 
This  same  seam  has  been  opened  at  many  places  above  and 
below.  At  places  below  it  forms  the  bed  of  Elk  Fork  for 
a  considerable  distance. 

The  Clinton  Group,  including  the  fossil  or  Dyestone  ore, 
has  a  great  development  in  this  valley.  Descending  the 
valley,  we  pass  over  the  outcrops  of  two  or  three  seams  of 
coal,  and  find  the  limestone  outcropping  on  the  line  of  fault 
at  the  lime  kiln.  A  half  mile  or  more  below  this  we  first 
meet  with  the  Clinton  rocks.  Prof.  Lesley  and  IVIr.  Winter 
made  a  thorough  survey  of  this  region,  a  large  portion  of 
which  is  a])pended. 

The  descent  from  Elk  Gap  shows  three  seams  of  coal» 
"These  coal  beds,"  says  Prof.  Lesley,  "are  subconglom- 
erate  coals,  and  are  probably  the  Careyville  coal  beds. 
They  outcrop  on  the  road,  and  evidently  dip  south  or  south- 
east into  the  Cove  Creek  country.  I  thought  at  first  that 
the  cliffs  overhanging  the  gap  were  of  the  Fortress  Rock, 
but  the  section  shows  that  they  correspond  to  the  great 
sand  rock,  200 — 300  feet  vertically  over  the  Careyville  coal 
bed.  The  limestone  appears  at  the  lime  kiln  apparently 
turned  up  vertical  by  the  great  fault  which  points  directly 
toward  it,  and  swallows  up  the  lower  formations  one  by  one 


Knoxville  and   Ohio  Railroad.  135 

until  it  leaves  nothing  but  these  top  layers  of  the  subcar- 
honiferous  limestone,  visible  on  the  side  of  the  coal  meas- 
ure (Elk)  mountain.  As  the  fiiult  runs  oW  north  and  the 
mountain  east  of  north-east,  the  whole  of  the  subcarboni- 
ferous  comes  up  out  of  the  fault,  and  forms  the  lower  half 
of  the  mountain  slope  for  numy  miles,  and,  indeed,  far  into 
Kentucky. 

"  The  Devonian  sands  and  shales  come  out  of  the  fault 
within  the  next  1,200  yards  going  north  from  the  lime 
kiln,  but  are  probably  so  crushed  up  by  the  fault  that  their 
fragments  have  been  swept  off,  leaving  a  hole  in  the  surface 
now  tilled  up  level  with  sand  and  mud,  making  tlie  triangu- 
lar meadows  of  the  widow  Davis'  farm.  Probably  other 
fractures,  springing  out  of  the  main  dislocation,  have  helped 
to  produce  this  effect.  But  beyond  the  meadows  they  rise 
and  form  a  bold  ridge  one  hundred  fifty  feet  high,  more  or 
less.  On  the  back  side,  or  next  slope  of  this  hill,  appear 
the  red  shales  of  formation  V  (Clinton),  carrying  the  fossil 
ore.  The  road  takes  up  over  a  low  place  back  of  the  hill 
made  by  these  red  shales. 

"Back  of  the  red  shales  runs  a  ridge  formed  by  the  thin 
but  hard  sandstone,  precisely  like  the  ridge  of  sandstone  in 
front  of  the  fossil  ore  and  red  shales  at  the  tunnel,  two  and 
a  half  miles  south  of  Careyville.  This  sandstone  is  the 
Southern  representative  of  the  great  formation  Avhich,  in 
the  Northern  States,  form  the  principal  mountains — Kitta- 
tinny  Mountain,  at  the  Delaware  Water  Gap  ;  the  Blue 
Mountain,  at  Port  Clinton  ;  Harrisburg,  Chambersburg, 
etc. ;  what  is  there  one  thousand  feet  thick  is  here  only 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  thick,  but  it  maintains  its  relative 
position  as  the  supporting  rock  of  the  red  shales  which 
carry  the  fossil  ore,  just  as  it  does  in  the  ridge,  where 
the  Danville  mines  are  on  its  peak,  and  in  the  Bald  Eagle 
mountains,  where  the  Hollidaysburg  ore  mines  are  on  its 
slope,  and  at   Cumberland,  etc.     I    made  no  explorations 


136  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

back  of  this  ridge  to  see  whether  the  slates  of  No.  Ill,  and 
the  limestone  of  the  great  valley  No.  II,  came  up  to  occupy 
any  of  the  surface;  but  I  judge  by  the  topography,  as  seen 
from  a  distance,  that  they  stay  underground,  for  Mr. 
Winter,  who  went  back  to  find  coal,  says  that  the  peak, 
half  a  mile  west  of  tlie  road  consists  of  coal  measures,  and 
of  course  lies  on  the  other  side  of  the  dislocation  (the 
western  or  down-throw  side). 

"  The  first  place  where  the  red  shales  are  seen  coming  up 
from  the  fault  is  about  eight  hundred  paces  north  of  the 
lime  kiln,  in  the  road  two  hundred  yards  beyond  the  little 
house  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  road.  There  is  no  use 
in  looking  for  ore  between  the  gap  (or  lime  kiln)  and  this 
point.  But  shafts  sunk  at  the  south-west  corner  of  the 
meadows  should  strike  it,  as  it  pitches  steeply  south  sixty 
degrees  east  under  the  mountain ;  240  paces  beyond  this 
poiat,  or  about  1,100  paces  from  the  lime  kiln,  the  red  shale 
begins  to  form  a  low  ridge,  dipping  forty-one  degrees,  and 
just  behind,  or  under  it,  is  the  sandstone  which  forms  the 
backbone  of  the  ridge,  while  the  red  shale  makes  a  ternue 
facing  the  road.  One  hundred  steps  further  on  the  great 
ore  bed  rises  from  the  meadow,  and  faces  this  terrace,  with 
a  wall  of  ore  dipping  sixty-six  degrees  south  sixty-two  de- 
grees east. 

"  The  beds  a  and  b  are  simple  plates  of  the  pure  ore  one  foot 
four  inches  and  one  foot  five  inches  thick,  separated  by  two 
inches  of  yellow  shale,  or  clay.  The  beds  c,  d  and  e,  are 
partially  concealed  by  their  own  soil  and  the  stuff  that  has 
slipped  from  the  terrace  of  the  red  shale  above,  but  enough 
is  seen  to  convince  one  that  a  good  portion  of  this  interval, 
if  not  the  whole  of  it,  consists  of  plates  of  ore  similar  to  a 
and  b,  with  .'-imilar  partings  of  clay.  The  bed  e  is  excellent 
ore,  a  foot  or  more  thick,  standing  in  a  plate  like  a  and  b, 
and  under  it  is  seen  the  face  of  another  plate,  /,  the  thick- 
ness of  which   is   entirely  concealed   by  soil.     From  the 


Knoxvilh  and  Ohio  Railroad.  137 

front  face  of  a  to  the  front  face  of  /  measures  at  right 
angles  to  both,  strike  and  dip  just  twenty  feet. 

"  It  will  be  safe  to  take  the  whole  twenty  feet  into  the  cal- 
-culation  of  quantity,  because  the  clay  partings  will  go  into 
the  furnace  with  the  plate  ore  as  flux,  only  diminishing  the 
per  cent  of  metal.  There  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
marked  difference  of  quality  in  the  different  layers  and 
pieces  taken  from  the  outcrop,  are  also  exactly  alike  those 
taken  from  these  plates.  There  is  great  uniformity  in  the 
ore  wherever  I  have  seen  it,  except  that  some  specimens 
show  the  small  crinoidal  fossils  abundantly,  others  sparingly, 
and  some  not  at  all. 

"  I  can  see  no  essential  variation  of  quality  when  speci- 
mens of  the  ore  from  this  outcrop  are  compared  with  speci- 
mens of  the  ore  from  the  outcrop  in  the  Carey ville  railroad 
tunnel,  fifteen  miles  distant. 

"  Mr.  Winter  and  I  followed  the  outcrops  of  the  ore  3,000 
yards  to  Mr.  I^ewis  Stanfield's  house,  and  Mr.  Winter  a 
mile  or  two  further,  to  where  the  valley  narrows,  and  the 
■coal  mountains  approach  so  close  together  that  there  is  only 
room  for  the  Elk  Fork  to  flow  in  a  deep  gorge.  There 
all  the  lower  formations  seem  to  have  been  again  swallowed 
up  in  the  fault  (or  in  another  fault  of  a  similar  character, 
with  a  more  north-easterly  course),  and  the  ore  is  wholly 
under  ground.  After  my  return  home  Mr.  Winter  reports 
that  he  discovered  the  existence  of  two  other  beds  of  ore 
at  the  point  of  the  hill  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  road 
on  the  bank  of  the  creek,  the  lower  ore  one  foot  thi(!k,  the 
upper  ore  three  feet  thick,  solid  ore,  and  these  two  beds  not 
far  apart.  He  also  reports  the  great  bed  to  be  fifteen  feet 
thick  where  it  appears  beyond  the  road-crossing  of  the 
little  creek  which  comes  in  from  the  north-w^est. 

"  The  difference  between  this  measurement  and  that  of  the 
exposed  wall  of  ore,  a,  b,  and  d  f,  was  one  to  be  expected. 
I  have  no  idea  that  the  big  bed  will  run  twenty-feet  thick 


138  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

for  any  great  distance.  We  are  acquainted  with  the  Clintoik 
fossil  ore  of  No.  5,  along  one  hundred  miles  of  the  Ap- 
palachian mountains,  and  even  ten  feet  is  an  exceptional 
thickness — twenty  feet  is  something  enormous,  and  quite 
abnormal.  At  the  same  time  this  thickness  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  gives  an  extraordinary  value  to  this  farm  of 
the  widow  Davis,  for  t'le  cliff  in  whicli  it  appears,  will 
yield,  at  this  one  spot  al)Ove  water-level  on  the  road  side,. 
5,000  cubic  yards,  or  10,000  tons,  of  ore.  An  open  quarry 
one  hundred  yards  long  and  twenty  feet  deep,  will  afford  a 
second  10,000  tons  of  ore,  and  so  <ui. 

*'  But  the  moment  quarrying  l)elo\v  water-level  commences 
the  bed  becomes  continous,  and  may  be  opened  for  three 
hundred  yards  as  well  as  for  one  hundred.  There  is,  also,, 
no  practical  limit  to  its  depth;  instead  of  twenty  feet,  the 
miners  may  go  down,  by  a  eingle  shaft,  sixty  or  one  hundred 
yards.  A  block  twenty  feet  thick,  sixty  yards  deep,  and 
one  hundred  yards  long,  holds  nearly  a  hundred  thousand 
tons  of  ore. 

"Crossing  the  little  run,  and  entering  the  hill  over  which 
the  road  passes  northward,  tho  bed  can  be  mined  with  a 
maximum  breasting  above  the  water-level  of  70  feet,  and 
if  the  bed  runs  at  an  average  of  only  10  feet  through  this 
hill  eight  hundred  yards,  with  an  average  breasting  of 
thirty  feet  there  can  be  taken  out  of  a  horizontal  gangway,, 
50,000  tons. 

*'  It  is  needless  to  say  more  as  to  quantity.  Besides  this, 
must  be  taken  into  consideration  the  three  feet  beds  above  it.. 

"  The  next  place  where  the  ore  is  plainly  visible,  is  in 
the  field,  to  the  left  of  the  road,  where  it  crosses  the  little 
hill,  1,700  yards  (one  mile)  beyond  the  widow  Davis's  ore 
bank ;  across  this  field  two  broad  bands  of  red  soil  run 
})arallel  to  each  other,  and  to  the  road,  fifty  paces  asunder. 
In  these  red  soil  bands  lies  abundance  of  loose  pieces  of  the 
ore.     How  thick  the  beds  may  be  I  do  not  see,  but  they 


Knoxville  and  Ohio  Railroad.  139 

are  lineal  continuations  of  the  big  bed  (Davis's),  and  the- 
two  small  beds  above  it. 

"After  my  return  Mr.  Winter  found  that  the  bed  next 
the  road  (the  upper  bed)  was  six  feet  thick,  and  the  bed 
below  it,  where  it  was  120  yards  from  the  road,  was  nine 
feet  thick.  This  again  gives  one  thousand  tons  of  ore  for 
every  one  hundred  yards  of  surface-length  of  ore  bed  one 
yard  deep.  Along  here  the  ore  bed  outcrops  nowhere  more 
than  thirty  feet  above  water-level,  but  that  gives  ten  thou- 
sand tons  of  ore  above  water-level  for  every  one  hundred 
or  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  outcrop. 

"  Here  Mr.  Winter's  opening  showed  that  the  ore  bed 
took  a  more  gentle  slant,  which  was  evident,  also,  otherwise 
from  the  mere  inspection  of  the  topography  of  the  country. 
The  dip  is  thirty-two  degrees  to  the  south,  forty  degrees 
east.  The  direction  here  found  must  be  quite  local,  for  the 
general  strike  of  the  outcrop  is  not  far  from  north  forty 
degrees  east,  south  forty  degrees  west. 

"  In  the  road  bank  below  Lewis  Stanfield's,  the  nephew's 
house,  five  hundred  paces  further  than  the  last  mentioned 
place,  a  small  bed  of  ore  is  seen  dipping  forty  or  fifty 
degrees  to  the  south-east;  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
further  on  an  ore  bed  crosses  the  road. 

"  Between  this  point  and  Lewis  Stanfield's,  the  uncle's 
house,  the  black  shales  (of  YIII),  overlying  the  ore,  appear 
in  the  road. 

"  In  the  flat  back  of  Stanfield's  back  yard,  the  lower  ore 
crop  runs  along  the  ground,  and  shows  plenty  of  crop  frag- 
ments.    Beyond  this  point  I  did  not  trace  it. 

"  The  above  description  will  suffice  to  prove  that  millions 
oi  tons  of  fossil  ore  can  be  mined  from  these  outcrops. 
Several  hundred  thousand  tons  above  water-level,  and  the 
rest  below  it  by  shafts  and  slopes ;  the  waste  in  mining  will 
be  small.  The  beds  lie  favorably  for  deep  mining,  and 
mining  will  not  be  expensive.     Coal  for  smelting  and  char- 


140  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

coal  can  be  obtained  in  any  quantity  from  the  neighborhood. 
The  mountains  are  covered  with  forest.  Mineral  coal  can 
be  run  over  the  railroad  from  Cove  Creek,  or  beds  can  be 
opened  in  the  high  peaks  and  ridges  from  three-fourths  of 
a  mile  to  two  miles  east  of  the  outcrops.  Mr.  Winter 
opened  a  coal  bed  two  and  a  half  feet  thick  in  the  mountain, 
the  bed  dipping  in  a  westerly  direction  away  from  the  fault. 
There  is  abundance  of  room  for  furnaces,  plenty  of  rich 
farming  land  around,  and  miles  of  limestone  within  easy 
reach.  But  the  line  of  the  railroad  must  be  entirely 
changed  if  ironworks  are  to  be  built  and  run  successfully 
in  this  valley.  The  bed  of  the  Elk  Fork  is  low  and 
swampy,  and  at  the  present  located  line,  high  up  on  the 
mountain  side.  By  keeping  down  along  the  slopes  of  the 
mountains  north-west  of  the  lime  kiln,  and  west  of  the 
outcrops  of  ore,  the  five  hundred  feet  descent  can  be 
made  with  a  loss  of  two  miles  of  railroad  distance  only, 
and  the  road  will  come  out  upon  the  ore  belt,  and  keep 
down  over  the  fields  on  the  west  side  of  the  Fork." 

Analysis  of  the  Ore  of  Elk  Fork  Valley. 

Some  singular  features  are  presented  in  the  analysis  of 
this  ore.  It  is  quite  variable  in  its  chemical  composition. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  ore  is  designated  by  plates  a,  b, 
c,  and  d,  etc.,  each  one  of  which  shows  some  variation.  It 
does  not  show  as  much  metallic  iron  as  that  taken  from 
Kindrick's  and  Rockwood,  but  the  fact  that  it  carries  suffi- 
cient carbonates  to  flux  itself  is  an  important  item  in  its 
favor.  Indeed,  Prof.  Lesley  thinks  sand  and  clay  will  be 
needed  in  some  cases  as  a  flux.  In  regard  to  its  analysis 
Prof.  Lesley  says  : 

"  The  fossil  ore  is  cold-short  from  phosphorus  in  the 
common  blast  furnace,  when  high  pressure  and  hot  blast 
were  used,  but  when  used  with  low  pressure  and  cold  blast 


Knoxville  and   Ohio  Railroad.  141 

in  small  stacks,  running  from  1,000  to  1,500  tons  of  pig 
metal  per  annum,  this  ore  makes  excellent  soft  iron.  In 
the  Catalan  forge  it  has  always  made  superior  metal. 

"  Made  in  large  quantities  it  makes  first  quality  hard 
rolled  iron  for  heads  of  rails.  If  large  quantities  of  pig 
iron  are  to  be  made  in  large  hot  blast  stacks,  it  will  be 
absolutely  necessary  to  mix  this  fossil  ore  with  the  red  short 
or  neutral  brown  hematites  (pipe  ores)  of  the  limestone 
valleys  east  of  Careyville  district.  Powell's  Valley  has- 
thera  also. 

"  In  the  analysis  made  by  Dr.  Gentle,  the  variable  quan- 
tities of  iron,  lime,  and  phosphorus  are  remarkable. 

Specimen  Specimen 

No.  1.  No.  2. 

Ironstone 0.54  0.82 

Silicia  acid 6.46  9.70 

Carbonic  acid 19.87  10.92 

Phosphoric  acid 4.09  1.20 

Ferric  acid 39.96  59.94 

Manganous  oxide 0.37  0.32 

Alumnia 2.13  1,90 

Magnesia  6.49  4.55 

Lime 20.19  10.65 

100.00  100.00 

Metallic  iron 27.97  41.96 

"A  small  quantity  of  iron  is  present  as  ferrous  carbonate,, 
the  balance  as  ferrous  oxide,  the  pho.sphoric  acid  as  bone 
phosphate  of  lime.  The  balance  of  the  lime,  the  man- 
ganous oxide,  the  magnesia  are  in  combination  with  car- 
bonic acid. 

"  It  will  be  noticed  that  as  the  iron  (or  oxide  of  iron)  in- 
creases, the  phosphoric  acid  diminishes,  and  the  carbonic 
acid  and  lime  also.  This  shows  that  the  presence  of  phos- 
phorus is  due  to  the  fossil  shells  in  the  ore.  A  resident 
chemist  will  be  indispensable  to  iron  works  erected  here, 
because  every  charge  will  have  to  be  analyzed — every 
stratum  in  the  bank  must  be  tested   before  quarrying  or 


142  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

mining  proceeds.  In  no  other  way  can  this  ore  be  used  on 
a  very  extensive  scale,  for  large,  high  power  hot  blast 
furnaces,  making  five  to  ten  thousand  tons  of  pig  iron  per 
year.  In  the  low  blast  cold  charcoal  furnaces,  or  in  the 
warm  blast  coke  furnace  where  the  heat  is  kept  low,  this 
ore  will  carry  off  its  phosphoric  acid  in  the  cinder,  and 
make  excellent  iron. 

"The  almost  entire  absence  of  alumina  in  the  ore,  or, 
rather,  its  replacement  by  magnesia,  is  very  noteworthy, 
although  not  remarkable,  Ijecause  the  rocks  of  lower  silu- 
rian  age  from  which  the  waters  of  the  Clinton  age  flowed 
into  the  sea,  are  magnesian  limestone.     We  should  expect, 
therefore,  very  little  sand  or  clay  (silicic  acid,  or  alumina), 
and  large  quantities  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  carbonate  of 
magnesia.     The  projier  flux  for  this  ore  will,  therefore,  be, 
not  limestone,  but  sand  and  eluy,  or  any  rock  which  con- 
sists of  silica  and  alumina.      If  such  a  rock  should  contain 
carbon  it  would  be  all  the  more  valuable — 1st,  by  adding 
to  the  furnace  fuel;  ^nd,  by  being  all  the  more  fissile,  fall- 
ing to  pieces  in  descending  from  the  tunnel  head.     Such 
a  rock  is  the  so-called  l)lack  l)and  and  heavy  cannel  coal 
of  the  coal  measures,  which  are  nearly  common  black  slate 
charged   with   an    unusual    amount   of  iron.     Mr.   Winter 
found    some   black    band    near  the    head  of  Cove   Creek. 
There  is  plenty  of  it  to  be  found  here  and  there  in  the  hills 
of  the  Cove  Creek  region.     It  is    not  at  all  the  "black 
band  "  of  Scotland,  and  cannot  be  used  for  ore  by  itself  as 
a  burden  for  a  blast  furnace,  but  it  consists  of  silica  and 
alumina,  with  a  heavy  charge  of  carbon,  or  petroleum,  and 
a  variable,  but  always  low  percentage  of  iron.     It  is  ex- 
actly what  is  wanted  for  fluxing   this  fossil  ore.     Cannel 
coal  will  act  as  well  as  a  flux  as  a  fuel  for  this  ore,  the 
higher  its  percentage  of  ash,  or,  in  other  words,  the  lower 
its  heating  power  as  fuel,  the  better  will  it  serve  as  a  flux. 
Forming  with  the  magnesia  and  lime  the  multiple  silicate 


Knoxville  atid   Ohio  Railroad.  143 

■of  iron,  lime,  alumina,  and  magnesia,  in  which  the  phos- 
phoric acid  will  pass  off,  or  the  worst  of  it,  in  its  original 
form  of  phosphate  of  lime." 

Such  are  the  main  portions  of  Prof.  Lesley's  report,  the 
truth  of  which  I  verified  hv-  going  over  the  whole  field. 
That  there  is  a  great  abundance  of  coal  and  iron  ore  lying 
-convenient  to  each  other  cannot  be  questioned.  With 
proper  means  of  communication  this  Elk  Fork  valley  will 
become  famous  for  its  iron  manufactories.  In  a  healthy  and 
fertile  region,  where  abundant  supplies  may  be  drawn  from 
Powell's  Valley,  and  from  the  numerous  smaller  valleys 
that  make  up  part  of  the  valley  of  East  Tennessee,  capital 
only  is  wanting  to  make  this  spot  rival  in  industrial  activ- 
ity any  place  in  the  South  or  South-west.  Elk  Fork  valley, 
with  Cove  Creek,  cuts  a  quadrilateral  block  from  the  coal 
field. 

The  soil  of  Elk  Fork  valley  is  inclined  to  be  cold  and 
^'crawfishy."  Moderate  yields  of  the  principal  field  crops, 
however,  are  grown.  The  farms  are  much  neglected,  many 
of  them  being  rented  out  every  year.  Very  little  clover  is 
grown,  and  the  laud  is  cropped  year  after  year  without  rest, 
and  often  without  rotation.  A  considerable  trade  is  carried 
■on  in  dried  fruit,  eggs,  butter,  feathers,  and  beeswax.  A 
few  mules  and  cattle  are  raised,  and  driven  out  to  Carey- 
ville.  The  farmers  raise  no  money  crop,  though  some  of 
the  land  is  well  suited  for  tobacco.  Lumber  is  abundant 
and  cheap,  selling  at  prices  varying  from  ten  to  fifteen  dol- 
lars per  thousand.  A  considerable  amount  of  walnut  tim- 
her  is  found  in  the  coves  of  tiie  mountains.  Poplar,  oak, 
<5hestiiut,  and  beech,  are  abundant.  Sugartree  and  ha(;k- 
berry  occur  in  the  mountains.  Chestnut  oak  is  usually 
found  on  the  highest  points. 

Passing  out  of  Elk  Fork  valley  westward  by  David's 
Fork,  the  country  is  very  wild,  but  well  timbered.  Upon 
the  higher  mountain  slopes  tbe  soil  is  fertile,  and  produces 


.144  Resources  of  Tennessee  Along  the 

grain  crops  as  well  as  the  lands  in  the  valley.  Niniblewill 
■grows  on  all,  the  open  places,  and  supplies  excellent  grazing 
for  cattle.  At  Markham's  Gap  the  low  divide  between  the 
head-waters  of  David's  Fork,  and  Smith's  creek,  which 
enters  into  Buffalo,  this  grass  is  very  abundant.  ^Valuut 
is  found  in  considerable  quantities  near  this  gap. 

Markham's  Mountain,  in  which  this  gap  occurs,  is  a  part 
of  Buffalo  Mountain,  belonging  to  the  Jellico  range.  It 
lies  between  the  east  and  west  forks  of  Smith's  creek,  ten 
miles  east  of  Huntsville.  On  the  western  slope  of  this 
mountain  a  section  was  taken  which  shows  eight  seams  of 
coal.  The  following  is  an  approximation  of  the  thickness 
of  the  strata,  the  coal  being  measured  with  a  rule,  and  the 
thick  strata  with  a  barometer.     Beginning  at  top,  we  have^ 

Surface 220    feet. 

Sandstone 40       " 

Coal 10     inches. 

Fire  clay 3.6 

Hard  blue  sandy  shale 25     feet. 

Thin  bedded  sandstone 10     inches. 

Gray  shale 1-6 

Coal 3     inches. 

Fire  clay 13 

Gray  shale 15     feet. 

Coai  1.6 

Fire  clay .6 

Sandy  siiale 12     feet. 

Coal 2     inches. 

Shale 2     feet. 

Shaly  sandstone 8     feet. 

Black  shale 1.6 

Coal 2.3 

Gray  shale 6. 

Fire  clay 1.8            ' 

Coal 1.3 

Hard  sandy  shale 11     feet. 

Coal 1.6 

Gray  shale 12     feet. 

Coal 6     inches. 

Shale  and  sandstone 394     feet. 

Coal 6     inches. 


Kno'xville  and   Ohio  Railroad.  145 

It  will  be  seen  that  by  far  the  larger  number  of  seams  is 
thin  and  worthless,  only  one  or  two  being  workable.  The 
thickness  would,  doubtless,  increase  beyond  the  outcrop. 

The  soil  in  the  valley  of  Buffalo  is  very  fertile,  and  a 
considerable  amount  of  corn  is  grown,  and  many  cattle 
raised  and  driven  out.  On  Trammel's  Fork  of  Smith's 
Fork  the  valley  is  trough- like,  but  the  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tains are  very  productive.  As  fine  timber  as  can  be  found 
in  the  State  grows  upon  the  slopes,  of  almost  all  valuable 
varieties  found  in  the  State.  The  soil  is  very  black  and 
friable.  At  some  places  it  is  difficult  to  ride  on  account  of 
the  looseness  of  the  soil.  The  capabilities  of  these  moun- 
tain slopes  are  almost  unknown.  Cultivated  by  an  intelli- 
gent Swiss  population,  they  could  be  made  as  attractive  as 
any  portion  of  the  State.  And  this  is  true  of  all  the  north- 
-eastern  part  of  Scott  county — a  county  of  great  possibili- 
ties, and  one  that  is  certain  to  grow  in  wealth,  enterprise, 
and  population,  when  the  several  lines  of  railroad  now  pro- 
posed shall  have  been  completed. 


1 


^> 


g^pi 


922  1 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALlFO?.NlA 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


Form  L-0 
25m-10, '11(2191) 


L 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

iiiri'i ri!  iri iiitui'!"" '""""" " 


AA    001  171307  0 


lllllllilllilllllMllllllllllllllll 

3  1158  01215  9 


4> 


i 

It 


